Body    FROM THIS MOMENT ON	Rated: PG-15  This is a continuation of
Our Mountain and Endless is the night. Both are archived at
www.hexwood.com and www.freez.com/atdusc . My e-mail address is
zzzaney@att.net Feel free to send comments or questions.ANYTHING. (I know
your out there, I can hear you breathing... Wait! No! Don't hit the delete
key-aarrggghh!) AND a big TYK is going out to Lucky13 for being my Beta 
Zzzaney   Ben stood on the sidewalk outside of Analise's apartment
building waiting for Ray to pick him up. He noticed how the temperature
was finally comfortable, just like home. It was a week before Valentine's
day and Ben had been desperately trying to decide what to do with Analise.
He wanted it to be perfect. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He knew what
he wanted to do with her, but.... Oh, never mind he thought to himself as
the green riv pulled up. "Hey Benny" "Ray" Ben greeted his friend as he
got in the car and placed his hat on the dash board. "I don't know how you
can just stand outside in this weather! It's below freezing." "It is
beautiful, isn't it?" Ben said looking up at the sky through the
windshield. Ray noticed Ben had seemed distracted lately and kinda figured
it had something to do with the up coming holiday. "So how's it going
anyway?" "Fine." "Are you planning anything *special* for next week?" Ben
looked at him blankly "special?" "You know... Valentine's day" Ray's voice
held a definite sense of humor. He thought Analise and Ben had been
inseparable before they left for Canada, but since they got back, it was
as if they were joined at the hip. Ben had even moved in with her. As far
as the Vecchio clan and everyone at the station was concerned, it way past
time for Ben to take the next step. And what better time to propose than
Valentine's day? Ray almost felt like cupid with all the hints he and
Frannie had dropped. "Ah...yes. I am familiar with the importance that's
placed on the day by some." "Well?" "Well what Ray?" Ray sighed in
frustration. Sometime Benny could be so dense "Are you planning on doing
anything special with Analise?" Ben smiled a little and decided to put his
plan into action. After all, Ray did seem to have some trouble keeping
certain things to himself. "Actually Ray, I was going to ask for your
assistance with something." 'Finally' Ray thought to himself. If Benny
wanted his help in making the evening perfect when he proposed, then he
was all for it. "Say no more, we can make reservations at the fanciest
restaurant in Chicago, dinner by candle light, maybe a little dancing..."
Ray was beside himself as he planned the perfect evening. Hell, it almost
felt like he was planning it for himself. "Ray" "You could give it to her
over desert, I can see it now. It will be perfect." "Ray.." "What?" Ray
was a little annoyed at being interrupted from his planning. Didn't Benny
know how important this was? "I really have no idea what your talking
about." "What do you mean you have no idea? How else do you expect to
propose to her? The night has to be perfect!" "I'm not proposing to
Analise, Ray." You could have bowled him over with a feather. Ray
screeched the riv to a halt and just stared at his friend. "Your kidding
right? I mean she means the world to you doesn't she?" "Ray, we don't need
a piece of paper to tell us how much we love each other." "Do you ever
listen to yourself, son?" Bob Fraser appeared in the back seat and got a
kick out of being able to finally say that to his son, after all the times
Ben said it to him. Ben looked in the rear view mirror and groaned. "Your
not planning on marrying her?" Ray couldn't believe him. "It isn't like we
never will. It just seems superficial to go through all the fuss and
expense of a wedding." Ben managed to say all this with a straight face.
More than anything he wanted to marry Analise but he wanted it to be a
complete surprise. He knew how everyone had been talking and didn't want
her to catch on before he was ready. Ray gave up. How could that man not
see this was the perfect opportunity? He pulled the riv back out into
traffic and sat silently. Part of him just wanted to slow down a bit and
kick Benny out of the car. Analise had talked to Frannie a few weeks ago
about the holiday and had 'hinted' to her, that she hoped he would
propose. Can you blame her? Who wouldn't want to get married in the same
situation? Curiosity got the better of him and he had to ask. "Just what
did you need my help with then?" They pulled up in front of the consulate
and Ray turned to get a better view of his friend. "Well, it just so
happens that Friday next, there is going to be a special seminar on the
mating rituals of dung beetles. It's a grand opportunity, I would never
forgive myself if I missed it. I was hoping you would lend me the riv so I
could take Analise." Ben was excited as he talked and Ray just sat there.
'He lost his mind, he finally lost his mind'. "Dung beetles! Haven't you
paid attention to anything I taught you about women?" Bob Fraser asked Ben
looked back at his father. "You never taught me anything about women." Bob
sat in the back seat shaking his head. Perhaps if he had been around more,
his son wouldn't be this clueless when it came to romance. Ray looked over
at him "Maybe I should of. Geez Benny! Dung beetles?" He decided to try
one more time. "Benny," Ray was doing his best to keep his voice calm,
even. "Next Friday is valentine's day." "Yes Ray. I can't think of a more
perfect way to spend the evening with the woman I love." "Get out" Ray
started the riv back up and didn't look at his friend. "Does this mean I
can borrow the car?" "Now, Benny." "Yes Ray," Ben opened the door and
looked back at his friend "thank you kindly for the ride." Ben barely had
the door shut before Ray had pulled away from the curb.  ** "He what?"
Frannie asked her brother as Stan, Jack, Tom and Lt. Welsh looked on.
"He's taking her to a seminar on dung beetles." "That's Fraser for you"
Jack replied. "What about proposing?" The Lt asked. Ray shook his head
sadly. "He hasn't even considered it." They couldn't believe what Ray was
saying. "Poor Analise, she's gonna be devastated." Frannie said halfway to
herself. They looked around at each other. "I got it!" Everyone looked
over at Tom. "We still got a week left, right?" "What are you getting at
Dewey?" Welsh asked. "What if someone else was interested in Analise?"
"What?" Jack looked at him like he grew a second head. "She's taken Dewey"
Frannie warned. "Just hear me out. Fraser might be happy with the way
things are now, but let's say she starts getting things from a secret
admirer. You know, roses, candy. The whole nine yards. Maybe it would make
him think twice about proposing." "That's crazy" Stan said shaking his
head. "No way- Fraser would kill us" Jack interjected. "He'd never fall
for it." Stan added. Everyone at first were inclined to agree with Stan,
but then they started thinking of how Ben reacted when Stan pretended to
like Analise. As if they were one person, they all looked over at Stan who
was still shaking his head and looking down. When he looked up, it only
took him a second to realize what they were thinking. "No! No way, I am
NOT doing it." Stan started to back away from the group. "Think about it
Stan," Ray was saying as they slowly eased up to the man, "we would need
someone we can trust... Someone who wouldn't take advantage of the
situation." "Or Analise" Welsh added. "And you could tell Fraser all about
it afterwards." Frannie added sliding up to him. Jack jumped in on the
band wagon "yeah, when you think about it, you'd really be doing Fraser a
favor." Stan paused for a minute. He couldn't, could he? Analise and Ben
did need to get the show on the road with tying the knot... But what would
Fraser think? And besides, he did really like Analise, not that he would
ever let anyone know that. No, it wouldn't be right.. He wasn't going to
put himself into that position. No matter what. Stan looked back at
everyone "no, get someone else, I'm not doing it." And he then walked away
quickly before they could protest. *** I walked towards the police station
to meet Ben for lunch thinking to myself that I had better get used to
this kind of weather. Not that it bothered me too much, with all the
layers of clothes Ben made me promise to put on every morning. I saw a
baby store up ahead and looking at my watch, decided to stop in for a few
minutes. Besides the gifts we had received, we didn't really have much for
the babies. Not that I hadn't wanted to go shopping mind you, but Ben
suggested it would be logical to wait until we reached Canada before
buying a lot of big items, and I reluctantly agreed. The sales clerk
looked up and smiled a greeting as I entered and I slowly looked around
taking in everything. A beautiful mahogany wood crib caught my eye and I
ran my hand across the crib rail. Even the comforter set was perfect. The
bumper, bed skirt, and linens all had little angels sleeping on clouds. I
fell in love with it immediately and stopped just short of telling the
sales clerk to order two for me-- linens and all. That was definitely not
a bare necessity though, we already had two bassinets which would suffice
until we got home. I turned away and instead bought some neutral sleepers,
t-shirts, a few receiving blankets, and quite a few packs of cloth
diapers. I smiled when I thought how washing out dirty diapers would be
the perfect job for 'daddy'. After paying for the items, I arranged to
have them delivered later this afternoon and headed on to the police
station. * Ben was on his way to the police station to meet Analise when
he spotted her about a block ahead. He was jogging to catch up to her and
was just about to call out her name when he saw her go into a store. When
he reached the window, he saw it was a baby store. He looked at her
through the corner of the window, and when she ran her hand along the wood
of a crib, the look of longing on her face made a lump form in his throat.
When her face dropped and she walked away, Ben felt as if he'd been dealt
a physical blow. He continued to watch as she picked out some clothing and
supplies and when she turned to go, he ducked into a nearby doorway. * "Hi
Frannie" I said as I walked up to her desk. "Hi, what are you doing here?"
She said as she rifled through some files on her desk. Taking my coat off,
I eased myself into a chair as I replied. "I'm supposed to meet Ben here
for lunch, and then he's going with me to an O.B. Appointment." "I haven't
seen him around yet, but if he said he'd meet you then he shouldn't be too
long. You can keep me company until he gets here." I looked around the
room "where is everyone?" "They're frying a suspect." I did a double take
at her. "Do you by chance mean 'grilling' a suspect?" Frannie rolled her
eyes at me "grill, fry, sauté, bake- whatever." I laughed at her. "Your
almost as bad as Ben sometimes". She threw a paper clip at me in response.
I figured it was time to change the subject. "Do you have any plans for
Monday night?" "None, why?" "Stan invited Ben to a basketball game and I
can tell he wants to go, but--" Frannie cut me off "but he doesn't want to
leave you alone." "Bingo. I thought maybe you and Meg could come over and
we could watch videos or something." "Sure, I'm game, sounds like fun."
"Great now I can tell Ben not to worry." "About what?" Came the reply from
the voice behind me. "Hi Fraser" Frannie said seeing him first.
"Franchesca" "Hi handsome" I said as I gave him a hug. "Frannie is going
to come over on Monday night so you can go to the game." He wrapped his
arms around me "did I tell you how much I love you today?" "Not yet" I
said as he leaned closer. "Ok- that's far enough." Frannie said knowing we
were getting ready to kiss. "You'd think the two of you would be tired of
that by now." Ben smiled at me and kissed my hand instead as he pulled
back. "So-- where have you been? It isn't like a Mountie to be late." I
teased. Ben's face took on a slightly panicked look and he stuttered.
"I...uh...had some errands to run. Perhaps we should get going." I let him
off the hook. "All right. I'll see you on Monday Frannie" "Hey, what
time." I looked at Ben "Six o'clock would be fine Franchesca" he replied.
"See you then." *** Doctor Arns listened to my belly with a stethoscope as
Ben held my hand. After a few minutes the doctor looked up at me. "How
have you been feeling lately?" "Tired. But for the most part fine."
"That's normal for 28 1/2 weeks. I want to hook you to a fetal monitor and
do a stress test. It shouldn't take more than an hour." Ben's face took on
his normal look of concern. "Is there something wrong?" "I'm sure it's
nothing at all. Just try and relax. I'll send the nurse in to get you
started." He said on his way out the door. Ben pulled away from me a
little and I knew he was going to press the doctor for questions but I
stopped him. After the door shut I looked up at him. "Why don't we just
wait and see what the tests show, ok?" I could tell he was undecided and
squeezed his hand. "Please?" Ben sighed and pulled a chair over to the
exam table. He wasn't going to leave my side at all. An hour and fifteen
minutes later the doctor came back in and studied the test results before
writing something in my chart. It seemed to take forever. Finally he
looked over at Ben and myself. "Ms. Jensen, your body is under a lot of
stress trying to support the babies. There's nothing major to worry about
now," he said looking pointedly at Ben "but you are going to need to be
placed on bed rest a little sooner than anticipated." "I feel fine, are
you sure it's necessary?" Dr. Arns looked at me "we need to keep you and
the babies as healthy as possible. When you exert yourself, your body
can't take the extra strain. Most multiple births don't make it to term
and by resting, your giving them every opportunity possible." "When you
say 'bed rest', what exactly do you mean?" The doctor looked at me hard
"no stairs, the furthest you should be walking is from your bed to the
bathroom and back again. Your not to lift, or carry anything. Period. That
includes groceries, laundry, etc. No cooking, no dishes, and no standing
for more than 5 minutes at a time. Does that answer your question?" There
was no way I could see making it for the next two months like that. Before
I could say anything, Ben spoke up. "Understood. I'll make sure she
complies with your instructions" "Good. And I want to see you at least
twice a week from now on. In-between visits, if you feel any pain or
discomfort, have any type of discharge, or just have a change from the way
you normally feel. I want to know immediately." I just nodded. When the
doctor left so I could get changed, I didn't know what to say to Ben. He
looked like he was in deep concentration as he helped me on with my
clothes and shoes. "Ben?" He stopped tying my boot and looked up at me.
Tears were in his eyes and I slid off the table and hugged him. "Hey, it's
ok. This is just a precaution. Nothing bad is going to happen to the
babies or me." He hugged me tight, trying to gain control of his emotions.
Sometimes that man just keeps too much inside. Finally he pulled back and
looked at me. "I know." He took a deep breath "I just don't want to lose
you." "I am NOT going anywhere." I said and then smiled at him "I'll race
ya to the elevator." He looked shocked for a minute and then realizing I
was trying to lighten the mood, smiled. "I think I may just have a
coronary if you keep that up." "Oohhh, does that mean I get to do mouth to
mouth?" I smiled at him and he leaned closer to give me a kiss. Just then
the doctor walked into the room. We jumped like two school kids getting
caught making out in the bathroom. "I forgot to add one more thing to the
list." He cleared his throat and continued "no sex what-so-ever." Ben and
I looked at each other and cracked up laughing. The doctor eased back out
and closed the door, probably wondering if he should give us a psychiatric
referral. *** (From this Moment on, part two) *** When we left the
doctor's office, Ben insisted on calling Ray to pick us up. Not only was
Ben in rare form, but he managed to get the normally calm, cool,
collected, and always rational Ray into a tizzy also. "I am fine guys." I
said as I took my coat off. "There is no reason for all this fussing." Ray
helped me with my outer clothes while Ben disappeared into the bedroom.
"How many layers are you wearing?" Ray asked "Too many" I replied
wrestling with the arm of my sweater. "It was either this or Ben wouldn't
let me leave the house!" By the time Ben came back out, I had managed to
shed all but my t-shirt and pants and was just about to go sit on the
couch. "I have the bed all ready for you. When your settled I will bring
you some orange juice and..." "Ben" I said placing my hand on his chest
"I'm fine. I don't want to lay down in the bedroom. I'll feel too boxed
in. The doctor said it was just a precautionary measure anyway. I'll sit
on the couch. Nothing is going to happen." Ben placed his hand over mine.
"Dr. Arns was very adamant Analise and you know it was more than a
precaution. Now you are going to lie down," he smiled a little before
continuing "we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way." I
laughed at him. "Would it be ok if I just lay down on the couch?" Ray took
this opportunity to come to my rescue. "That sounds like a fair compromise
to me." I smiled at him and sat down on the couch. Ben frowned for a
moment "you said you would lie down" sighing, I started to take off my
boots and Ben knelt down to help me. Dief picked that moment to come up
and nuzzle my hand. "About time you decide to get up. I thought you were
going to sleep all day!" Dief whined at me in answer and curled up by the
end of the couch. "Ray, would you go into the bedroom and get Analise a
pillow and blanket please?" "Sure Benny, no problem." "Thank you kindly."
When Ray brought out the pillow, Ben adjusted it behind me and then lifted
my feet up onto the couch. Ray added the blanket when he was finished.
"Thank you" I said to both of them. "Hey, no problem, we aim to please."
Ray quipped with a smirk on his face. Something was bothering me and when
I looked at the clock on the wall, I figured it out. "Ben, weren't you
supposed to work tonight? Those diplomats were coming in right?" "Oh
dear!" Ben said as he checked his watch. "I'm supposed to be there in a
half hour!" He looked back down at me. "I'll just call in and tell the
Inspector I can't make it." "I would love to hear that Benny" Ray said
picturing the conversation. "Ben, you can't leave Meg hanging like that.
You said yourself that she was going to need all the help she could get.
If anything were to happen-- which it wont-- I will call you." "No, I'm
not leaving you." "How about if I stay?" We both looked over at Ray.
"What? It aint like I got anything better to do." I shook my head no "I'm
not going to ask you to go out of your way like that. You've done more
than enough already." "You didn't ask. As I recall, I offered." Ben looked
at his watch one more time. "You wouldn't mind?" "No problem. You better
get going before your late. You can even take the riv." Ben looked over at
me one more time, obviously trying to make up his mind. "Fine" I said
making like I was going to get up. " I can help her." "No!" I stopped and
looked at him "I'll go." He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss, and
tucked the blanket back around me. "I'll be back as soon as possible." "I
love you too." I replied trying to remember he acts like this because he
cares. Ben looked over at Ray "you promise you wont let her get up?"
"Yeah, yeah, I promise. Now go already." Ray tossed the keys to Ben and
knowing he had no other choice, Ben finally left with Dief close at his
heels. After I was sure Ben was gone, I threw the blanket back. "Where do
you think your going?" Ray asked. "No where. I just want to check the
computer. I do have a job to do remember?" Ray shook his head. "I promised
Benny you would stay on that couch." "It will only take a minute. Come on
Ray! This is stupid." He folded his arms and stood hovering above the
couch. "Just a quick minute?" He shook his head no again. I sighed and
leaned back. He was almost as bad as Ben. ** When I woke the next morning,
I was in my bed and looked over at the clock. 10:30am. It wasn't like me
to sleep so late in the morning. One thing I knew for sure, I really
needed to go to the bathroom. I noticed I was wearing my favorite t-shirt
and wrapped a robe around myself before heading out. When I opened the
bedroom door I heard voices. Maybe Ray spent the night. I didn't think too
much about it and shut the bathroom door. After, splashing my face with
water and brushing my teeth, I opened the door to find a doting Benton
Fraser standing on the other side. "Do you always lurk outside of
bathrooms? Because if this is some kind of fetish, I think I have a right
to know." I said teasing him. "Ha-ha. Did you sleep well?" "Always." "Why
don't you go back to bed and I'll bring you some breakfast?" "How about I
go in the living room and keep you company while you make it?" I said
wrapping my arms around his neck, and nibbling slightly. He moaned a
little before drawing back "Analise, you heard what the doctor said." "He
said I couldn't, not you" "you know very well what he meant." Ben
chastised. I still heard voices from the other room and it dawned on me
there had to be more than just Ray here. "We have company?" Ben blushed
slightly. "I..well that is, Ray and I asked everyone to come over."
"Everyone as in...?" "Everyone." "Why?" "We are working out a schedule so
you don't have to be alone." "Ben I don't need a babysitter. I can't
believe you did that." I said as I stomped back into the bedroom to
change. Ben followed me "we were only thinking of what's best for you.
What if something happens and you can't get to a phone? And how are you
going to eat?" I dug around the drawer for a shirt and pants. "I am not an
invalid Ben! You should have asked me before doing this." Ben came up from
behind and placed his hands on my shoulders, massaging them slightly. "I'm
sorry. I guess I should have asked first. They're here now anyway, so why
not just hear them out?" I moved away from Ben and sitting on the edge of
the bed, pulled my pants on. He came over and sat beside me. "I didn't
mean to upset you." His voice was soft and apologetic. "I know. I just
don't like having to depend on other people." "Everyone is worried about
you. Just hear what they have to say, all right?" I leaned over and rested
my head on his shoulder. "All right" He smiled and gave me a small kiss.
Then he waited while I finished changing and walked with me to the living
room. When Ben said everyone was here he wasn't kidding. Stan, Ray,
Frannie, Meg, Lt Welsh and even Ma Vecchio. They were sitting at the
kitchen counter and in the living room. Everyone stopped talking when they
saw me and Ma immediately came over and started to fuss about. "Here
Analise, you can stretch out on the couch. Ray, move over so Analise can
lie down." "I'm fine Ma, really. I can just sit." "No, Benton has told us
of the doctor's instructions and you are going to follow them." Ray moved
so I could lie down and I had never felt so embarrassed in my life. When I
was settled, Ben brought over a glass of orange juice and my vitamins. I
looked at everyone who by the way were unusually quiet and thought I
should say something. After all, they did get up early on a Saturday to
come over. "I'd like to thank all of you for coming over but it isn't
necessary. Ben has been overreacting lately and he shouldn't have drug all
of you out of bed." The silence was broken by Ray's laughter. He was
looking at Stan "pay up buddy, ten big one's" Stan just shook his head and
pulled out his wallet. "What's going on?" I asked totally confused. Meg
helped me out "tweedle dee and dumb here made a bet as to what your
reaction would be when you found out why we were here." "Ramundo!" Ma
Vecchio scolded him "you should be ashamed of yourself." "Aw Ma, it was
just a little bet." She crossed her arms in front of her chest "Ramundo,
give it back now." Stan had a big smile on his face as Ray begrudgingly
handed the money back. "Gee, thanks 'Ramundo'." He teased. Ray grumbled at
him and Frannie stepped between the two. "All right- break it up." She
threw her arms up in an exasperated gesture. "Men!" Lt. Welsh leaned
forward in his chair, trying his best to ignore the two detectives "how
are you feeling Analise?" "I feel fine. That's what I've been trying to
tell Ben. I don't need to be babysat." Ma Vecchio sat down in a chair
across from me "you should have someone to take care of you when Benton is
away. What can it hurt cara?" I looked over at Ben who was leaning against
the kitchen counter. By the look on his face, I could tell his mind was
made up, and I knew all too well that once he makes up his mind about
something, he could be the most tenacious man on earth until he got his
way. "So what's the plan?" I reluctantly said, and was rewarded with a big
smile from Ben. He came over to give me a kiss and whispered in my ear
"thank you." When he pulled back, Ray answered my question. "Benny has the
weekends and nights covered..." Meg took it from there "I'm giving him the
morning shift till one, so he can have the afternoons and evenings
available." Frannie continued from there "Me, Ray and Stan will take turns
in the mornings,..." And Stan finished "and Mrs. Vecchio will come over at
lunch." I looked at everyone "we can't ask all of you to do that, it's too
much! You guys have jobs to do." "I believe that's where I come in." I
looked over at Lt. Welsh "there schedules have already been approved." It
was overwhelming. Seven months ago I was alone in a big city and now there
was a whole group of people who cared enough to go out of their way for
me. "Thank you" I whispered. Meg cleared her throat "let's give these two
some privacy." They got up to leave and Ben saw them to the door, thanking
all of them one more time. After he locked the door, Ben came over to the
couch, removed my pillow and replaced it with his chest. Wrapping his arms
around me, his hands rested on my stomach and I turned my head back so I
could see his face."What are we doing today?" Ben smiled at me and leaned
forward to give me a gentle kiss. Before he could pull back though, I
wrapped my arm around his neck and deepened it.  Ben's hand moved of it's
own volition up Analise's side and brushed her breast before he found the
resolve to pull back. "No" he said in a shaky whisper. "We can't" "*I*
can't. The doctor never said anything about you." Ben tried to change the
subject again. "Didn't we just have this conversation?" "Not that I
recall" I twisted around to get better leverage. "Why not let me please
you?" Ben shook his head no "If you have to wait, then so will I." "Your
just being stubborn." "So are you" he retorted. I couldn't argue with that
logic. I tried to get up and Ben's arms captured me again. "Where do you
think your going?" "To get a bath." Ben slid out from beneath me "I'll run
the bath for you, wait here." He replaced the pillow and disappeared down
the hall. *** Monday night came and I was staring at the clock every two
minutes. Ben was reading a book and I was doing my best not to snatch it
from him and whack him over the head with it. All I needed was a few
minutes of unconsciousness to make my escape. Ben had been adamant about
not letting me up for anything except a bathroom break and I'm sure if he
thought I'd go for it, he would carry me there! It wasn't any easier this
morning when Ray came over so Ben could leave for work. After about an
hour of begging, I finally managed to get him to let me send out last
weeks A/P and A/R for Goddess Creations, but that was the most he would
budge. A knock on the door saved my sanity. "I'll get it" I said sitting
up. Ben just gave me 'the look' and putting his book down went to go
answer it. "Stan!" The blond haired man looked jumpy. "I hope your ready
Fraser, traffic's slow and I want to get a good parking spot." Ben stared
at him blankly. "Come on Fraser! Tell me you didn't forget about the
game?" "No, I didn't forget, I just assumed that since... Well, with
Analise...." I knew what was coming and decided to cut him off. "You know
Ben, it would be very UN-Canadian to stand up a friend." I could tell his
mind was racing "you need someone to stay with you." Frannie and Meg
picked that moment to walk through the still open door. "Hi guys" Frannie
said pushing past the two men standing in the doorway. "Gentlemen" Meg
nodded as she placed a bag on the coffee table. "Sorry if we're late, the
weather is horrible!" "Am I glad to see the two of you!" I said beaming at
them. Stan picked up Ben's coat and held it out to him. Ben came over to
the couch and sat on the edge. "Will you be alright?" "I am in the best of
hands. We'll probably just go to see a movie and come right home."
"Analise.." Ben's voice took on a warning tone. "All you do at a movie is
sit anyway Ben. No big deal." "Bed rest, remember?" "How could I forget?"
I grumbled at him. He knew I had wanted to see Starwars for a month now
and it had just come out Friday. I had been trying to convince him all
weekend to go see the movie with me but nooooo. He leaned forward and gave
me a lingering kiss, caressing my stomach at the same time. "I'll be back
soon" "Fraser, come on! Pitter, patter! " Stan practically yelled at the
man. Ben took his coat and looked over at Frannie who was standing by the
door. "Make sure you lock up" "Bye Fraser" she said pushing him out and
closing it behind him. "That man is exhausting!" Frannie said as she
leaned against it. "Don't I know it" I said sitting up. "I love him with
all my heart, but sometimes I think he's never broken the rules, not once.
No hooky from school, well he was home schooled but you get the point."
Meg sat down beside me. "So, what do you want to do? We brought videos,
popcorn, a couple of board games.." I smiled at her and looked over at
Frannie "did you get them?" Frannie grinned back as she pulled three
tickets out of her purse. "Yes!! It's only 6:10. The movie doesn't start
till 7:15 so we got plenty of time to get there." Meg looked over at both
of us "what's going on?" "We are going to see the Phantom Menace!" I
declared proudly. "Thanks to Frannie here." "Yeah, I had to stand in line
for three hours to get these babies" "Is that a play?" Meg asked confused.
I laughed at her "it's Starwars Meg. The new movie?" I added when her look
didn't change. I got up to go get changed. "Wait a minute, you can't go to
a movie" Meg was looking at me like I was crazy. "Why not? It isn't like
I'll be walking or anything. Think about it Meg, I have to go to the
doctor twice a week. How do I get there? Drive. And I'm always there for
at least two hours, anyway. In the movie, all I'll be doing is sitting."
"Come on Meg! It will be fun." Frannie said backing me up. "I don't
know...." I could tell she was wrestling with her conscious. "Please Meg-
I'm begging you here. This might be the last night of freedom I have." She
looked over at me and Frannie "only on one condition" "Anything" I
promised blindly "We come right back" "You have my word." I crossed my
heart and went to go change. *** "Look at that line! It's twice a long as
earlier!" Frannie gaped as we walked past it to go inside. There was a
light snow falling and it was a very beautiful evening. I think part of
the reason Frannie was complaining was because she was wearing a mini
skirt and freezing her butt off. "I don't like this" Meg said. "Fraser is
going to have a heart attack." I wrapped her arm in mine "Ben isn't going
to find out, and what he doesn't know, can't hurt him, can it?"  * * * "I
can't believe it! I just can't believe it! When I find that guy I'm gonna
kill him!" Stan said as he pounded his hand on the steering wheel of his
GTO. Ben's eyebrows shot up as he studied his friend. It wasn't like him
to abuse his car. "Stan, the tickets did look legitimate. I don't believe
resorting to homicide will help you." Ben did feel really bad for his
friend, but he was glad to be going home so he could spend more time with
Analise. "Front row, center court." Stan rambled on "I should have known
it was too good to be true." Ben knew the best thing to do was let his
friend get it out of his system. Driving was slow going at best and by the
time they reached the apartment building, Stan had calmed down... For the
most part. When the men reached the apartment Ben unlocked the door and
was surprised to not see anyone in the living room. He walked into the
bedroom and checked the bathroom. Stan looked around "where did they go?"
Ben looked down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "The movies." "Are you
sure about that?" Ben nodded his head "she said as much. I should have
taken her more seriously." He sat down on the couch. Stan sat on the chair
opposite him and waited to see what Ben wanted to do. Ben looked over at
his friend "Stan? Do you think I'm too..." He paused searching for the
right word "over protective?" Stan didn't know what to say him. That was
really a no brainer, was he the only one who couldn't see it? Looking at
his friend, he knew that's not what he needed to hear. "Well, you...uh...
Just want to make sure nothing happens to Analise. There isn't anything
wrong with wanting her safe." "Why does she go and do things like that?"
Ben was exasperated. He only wanted what was best for her. That was also a
no brainer and Stan chuckled at him "if she didn't, she wouldn't be
Analise, and you wouldn't love her. Besides, she wouldn't have went if she
thought it was dangerous." Ben had to smile at that. No truer words had
ever been spoken. Unfortunately it didn't make things any easier. "So,
what do you wanna do? We could go and check out some theaters?" "No, thank
you anyway Stan. I think I'll wait here for her." "Are you sure?" "Yes.
Inspector Thatcher will make sure nothing happens to her." "Ok, I'm gonna
go then. Give me a call if you need anything" Stan said as he walked to
the door. Ben got up to see him out. "I will, and thanks again Stan."
After he left, Ben walked around the apartment and finally settled on
looking out the window. He knew movies lasted about two hours and looked
down at his watch. This was going to be a really long two hours.  

*** 

 "That was so great!" Frannie said for the thirtieth time since they got
out of the theater The drive home seemed to take forever.Meg was starting
to get annoyed with her. "The movie did have some good special effects,
but I wouldn't say it was great." "You wouldn't know a good movie if it
fell on you!" Frannie retorted. I was sitting in the front seat laughing
at the two of them. "Ow!" I grabbed my side as I tried to draw in a shaky
breath. Meg swerved and almost hit a car. "Analise, what's wrong?" She
asked glancing back and forth between the road and myself. I shook my head
no, to tell her nothing was wrong. Frannie was leaning over from the back
seat. "Oh my God! *do* something Meg" "I'm fine" I finally managed to get
out. "One of the babies just gave me a good kick is all, winded me." I
smiled at the two of them to let them know I was ok. "Are you sure?
Perhaps you should go to the doctor?" Meg was really regretting the fact
that she agreed to go along with this. "Meg, it was a kick. I think Ben
has everyone paranoid. From the feel of things, there are two very healthy
babies inside me!" I laughed again. When we pulled up to the building I
noticed the lights were on in the apartment. "We did turn all the lights
out didn't we?" I asked to double check. "Yeah, I was the last one out. I
made sure of it." Frannie said. "Oh my... I guess that means Ben's home."
I thought outloud. "If you want, we can go up with you. Explain what
happened?" Even though Meg said it I could tell she really didn't feel
like doing it. "No, I can handle this." The door was unlocked and I took a
deep breath before going in. Ben was standing by the window and he didn't
look at me. I shut the door softly and put my purse on the credenza. He
still didn't look at me. I took my coat off and went into the bedroom to
change. I knew I had to say something to him but didn't know what. I
wasn't sorry for going out. I had a good time. No matter what I said it
wouldn't be enough. When I went back into the living room, Ben was still
standing at the window and I walked over to him. "Ben?" When he didn't
answer, I placed my hand on his arm. "Ben, we need to talk." He looked
over at me "what's there to talk about? It's apparent you are going to do
what ever you feel like anyway." Where did that anger come from? He asked
himself. Yes, he was worried but... "Just what is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, never mind" he turned back to the window. I couldn't believe him
"No" I grabbed his arm "it's not nothing. You were going to say something,
so say it." I was getting pretty angry with his attitude. It wasn't like I
didn't tell him where I was going. Who did he think he was anyway? If I
feel like going to a movie then I'm gonna go! "Did you even stop to think
how your little 'outing' might effect the babies?" "Of course I thought
about it. What? Do you think I'm trying to hurt them?" "No, of course not.
I didn't mean that..... I was just worried about you." "Look, just because
I love you doesn't mean I am going to like everything you do and vice
versa. I really needed to get out. I tried to tell you all weekend but you
wouldn't listen to me." I was pacing now and very upset. No matter how
hard I tried not to, I started to cry. "Yes, it was probably a mistake,
but I just had to get out." Ben came over and wrapped his arms around me,
pulling me to him. I was shaking and sobbing into his chest. "Sshhh...
It's all right. I shouldn't have gotten upset." I could feel a dull pain
starting in my side and it was getting sharper as it spread. A moan
escaped my lips and I felt myself start to sag. "Analise, what's wrong?"
Ben shifted my weight so he was supporting me. "It hurts" I whispered. "I
need to lie down." Ben scooped me up carrying me down the hall, and kicked
the bedroom door open. He placed me on the bed. "I'm calling Ray. Your
going to the hospital." "No" I just needed to rest. I curled up into a
fetal position and tried to will the pain away. "Your going!" His voice
was full of worry and he was kneeling by the bed. "Please..." I shook my
head no again. "Just hold me." Ben sighed and dropped his head. He crawled
into bed behind me and wrapped his arm around my stomach, as soon as I
felt my back nestle against his chest I started to relax. * Ben looked on
as the doctor listened to Analise's stomach and took her blood pressure.
Looking up at Ben, he motioned for them to go into the other room. Ben
pulled the covers back over Analise and quietly shut the bedroom door. The
doctor was putting his coat on when Ben joined him. "How is she?" "I'm not
going to lie to you Constable, another incident like this one and she
might go into premature labor, have a placental abruption, any number of
complications. You said the pain started when she became upset?" Ben
nodded "It would probably be best them to try and keep her calm. You did
the right thing by calling me. She has an appointment at the office
tomorrow and I'll do some extra tests. Don't worry" he added seeing the
look on Ben's face "I'll say they're routine. I must tell you, the only
reason I agreed to let her stay here instead of the hospital is because I
know how much she hates them. If you can't convince her to stay in bed
though, then I'm afraid I will have to insist she gets admitted." The
doctor chuckled "I haven't had a patient this stubborn in a long time."
Ben shook the man's hand "I'll make sure she stay in bed and thank you for
coming over at such an early hour. " Dr. Arns smiled at him. "It was no
trouble at all. Besides, I'm just doing my job." After the doctor left,
Ben went back into the bedroom to finish dressing for work. * Ray sat the
tray down on the night stand by Analise and looked over at her. When he
showed up this morning, Benny had told him everything that happened from
the movie to the doctor's visit. She looked pale. He looked at his watch
9:45 am. He started to ready her vitamins to busy himself. Analise moaned
slightly as she shifted in her sleep. Ray leaned over her. "Analise?"  I
opened my eyes and was confused to see Ray standing over me. "Ray?" "Yeah,
it's me." He said softly "how are you feeling?" I looked around the room.
Dief was curled up at the foot of the bed, but I didn't see Ben. I started
to sit up and Ray helped support me, propping pillows behind my back. "Did
you get the licenses plate number of the truck that hit me?" Ray laughed
as he handed me a glass of orange juice with my iron pills and vitamins.
"Thanks" "I hope your hungry because I have got a breakfast for you." He
beamed as he placed a tray in front of me. I looked down at all the food.
How could he honestly expect me to eat all this? There was apple and
banana slices, toast, cream cheese and peanut butter. Not to mention the
milk and orange juice. He must have read my mind "Benny has a list in the
kitchen of everything you like and dislike. I didn't know what you might
want so I just made a little bit of everything." "You are so thoughtful
Ray." I smiled at him and he blushed a little. "Why are you here though? I
thought Stan was coming over." "He had to go to court, last minute thing.
Frannie will be here tomorrow though." "Oh." My mind switched subjects and
I had to ask "Ray, how was Ben this morning?" "Worried. You scared the
crap out of him last night." "Did he go to work?" "Yeah, but only after I
pushed him out the door and locked it behind him. Hey, if you want, I
brought a deck of cards along. Maybe a little stud. I know you can't get
lucky like that twice." I laughed at him. "If you *really* don't mind me
whupping your butt again, your on. Care to make it a little more
interesting?" Ray warily looked at me before replying "What did you have
in mind?" "Oohhh feeling bold are we?" I took a minute to think. I really
hadn't expected him to take me up on my offer. "How about if I win, you
let me do my job with out interruption or begging today, and if you win,
I'll be a good girl and not get up at all, except to go to the bathroom?"
"Deal" if he won, it would certainly make his day a lot easier. And if he
lost, well, somehow he just knew she would get her way no matter what. * I
turned off the computer and looked over at Ray who was still pouting. "All
done!" I said as I went into the kitchen, and took a mug down from the
cupboard. "Coffee?" I asked as I reached for the pot. Ray came into the
kitchen "I'd love some- as long as you let me make it." He said taking the
pot from my hands. Knowing I had pushed my luck with his lenience, I
relented and went to lay down on the couch. Besides, it was about an hour
till lunch and that means Ma would be here soon. I wanted to be resting or
she would never let me here the end of it. * Ray looked over at Analise,
she had been asleep when his Ma arrived so she didn't stay too long. Ray
knew Ben would be home soon and got his things ready to leave. There was a
knock on the door and Ray went to go answer it before Analise woke up. He
looked at the delivery man holding a dozen roses in a vase and moaned. 'Oh
no. Now is not a good time for this with everything that's been going on'
"I have a delivery for Analise Jensen. sign here" Ray reluctantly signed
and the man handed him the bouquet. Ben picked that minute to walk up.
"Hello Ray. Flowers?" He said as he nodded to the departing delivery man.
"Er...yeah" "Who are they for?" Ben asked walking into the apartment and
going over to Analise to give her a kiss. "They're for...uh...Analise."
Ray managed to stammer out. Ben stood and looked thoughtful "oh. Well, I'm
sure she'll enjoy them" Ray couldn't believe him. 'I'm sure she'll enjoy
them?' Was he serious? If someone had sent his girl flowers, he would have
to...to... The only thing that came to mind was the expression Stan always
used. He would have to jump Bogart on him. "How long has she been asleep?"
Ben asked as he took off his tunic. "About two hours. She didn't eat lunch
yet. Ma has a pot in the fridge, it just has to be heated." "Thank you
kindly Ray." Ben picked Analise up and carried her into the bedroom. Ray
quickly scrambled to read the card and, hoped beyond hope it wouldn't say
what he knew it would. He pulled the card from the envelope 'for the most
beautiful woman in the world. From your secret admirer.' Hearing Ben come
back, he barely had time to replace it before the Mountie saw him. Ray
grabbed his things quickly. "Look Benny, I'm gonna go now. If you need
anything just give me a call." "Are you sure Ray? Your more than welcome
to stay for dinner." Ray didn't want to be around when the subject of
flowers came up and declined one more time.  ** I walked into the
livingroom to see Ben asleep on the couch. He looked so cute. His boots
and tunic were off but he still wore his jodhpurs and white wool
undershirt. On the kitchen counter I saw a bouquet of roses and thought of
how sweet Ben was to get them for me. I breathed their scent deeply and
looked at the attached card. From a secret admirer? So, Ben is in a
playful mood eh? I could work with this. I went back over to the couch and
gave him a gentle kiss on the lips, and nibbled my way slowly down to his
neck while my hands unbuttoned the top buttons on his shirt. I placed
little kisses on his exposed skin and gently lifted his shirt out from his
pants. Ben's breathing was becoming quicker but I could tell he still
wasn't fully awake. I ran my hands up under his shirt and waited for his
reaction. It didn't take long and when he opened his eyes, I grinned at
him. "About time you wake up sleepyhead" I then drug my nails back down
his chest. He shuddered and pulled my hands out from underneath. "You are
dangerous." "Are you just now figuring that out?" I reached up and gave
him a kiss. Then laid down on my side on top of him as he wrapped his arms
around me. "Did you have a hard day at work?" I asked, it wasn't like him
to fall asleep at 6pm. "No, it was fine, I just didn't sleep much last
night." "Because of me, wasn't it?" I rubbed my hand back and forth on his
chest. "I just couldn't get enough of looking at the most beautiful woman
in the world." I smiled at him and remembered the card on the roses. That
must be his way of telling me they came from him. "The roses are
beautiful." He looked over at them "yes, they are lovely. Who sent them?"
He was just too much sometimes. "Well, they say they're from a secret
admirer. Have any clue who that might be?" Ben looked thoughtful for a
moment. "I really would have no idea." I reached up and kissed him. "I
guess I'll just have to wait and see then, wont I?" *** Lt. Welsh walked
through the bull pen. Frannie had everything decorated in pink and red
hearts with doilies everywhere and if he was to find one more on his door,
desk, or in his mug, he was going to be forced to ban the holiday.
"Everyone, my office now." He bellowed as Stan, Ray, Frannie, Jack and Tom
looked up. It only took a second for everyone to comply. "What's up sir?"
Ray asked wondering why they were all in here. "I wanted to have an update
with what's going on with Ben and Analise. Did you find someone to feign
an interest in her?" Stan looked down when the Lt looked at him. "Everyday
this week someone has sent her flowers, candy, hell a gorilla gram showed
up at her door yesterday. Dief almost attacked, but Benny doesn't seem to
be phased at all." Ray folded his arms and looked over at Stan. "Don't you
think your going a little overboard?" Everyone's attention fell on Stan
and he backed up "Don't look at me! I didn't send her anything." "Well, if
you didn't then who did?" Frannie asked. "Not me," Jack chimed in. "Me
either. I cant afford anything this month" Tom added. Welsh sat up in his
chair "so none of you have sent any of it?" Everyone shook their heads no.
"You do realize what this means don't you?" Frannie added "she really does
have a secret admirer!" "That's great!" Tom said and everyone looked over
at him. "So far, she thinks Fraser has been sending everything to her. The
last thing she got said her admirer would be revealed tonight, on
valentines day." "I don't like this" Stan said shaking his head. "Some
sicko is out there and he's planning on becoming more personal with
Analise." "We gotta tell her and Fraser." Ray knew he had to prepare his
friend. "Wait, we just cant tell her there is someone stalking her, that
will upset her." Frannie chimed in. "What should we do?" Jack asked "Well,
we could post a stake out around the apartment building." Stan offered.
"That might not work, it could be someone who lives in the same building."
Welsh said rejecting the idea. "Well, we gotta do something" Ray was
determined. "Why don't we go over and visit?" Tom looked at everyone. "On
valentines day? Are you crazy? Just what are we supposed to say?" Frannie
thought that was the dumbest idea she ever heard. "We are talking about
Fraser here, it's not like he'll be planning a romantic evening or
anything" Tom said trying to defend his statement. "You may have something
there Dewey." Welsh clicked the top of his pen in and out as he thought.
"What are you thinking sir?" Ray leaned over on his desk "We can just say
we wanted to visit. See how things are going. And privately when Analise
is distracted, we can tell Fraser what's going on." "That just might
work." Frannie had to agree with that. "Get Thatcher on the phone, we're
gonna need all the help we can get." *** Ben moved the dining table so he
would have room for the gift he brought Analise. Tonight was going to be
perfect, he would make sure of it. he had made a romantic dinner, lit
candles, and even ran a bubble bath for her. Ben thought the floating
candles in and around the tub were a nice touch. Turning the lights down
low, he put on Jim Brickman knowing he was Analise's favorite artist for
'mood' music as she calls it. 'perfect' he thought as it played softly in
the background. Ben leaned against the window frame and dug in his pocket
for the ring he had bought her. He really hoped she would like it. The
gold band had a few channeled diamonds and in the center was a not-to-big
but not-to-small princess cut diamond. He knew she didn't like a lot of
fancy jewelry but just couldn't resist when he saw it. Looking at his
watch, he knew she would be waking up soon and tucked it away for safe
keeping. Looking around one more time to make sure nothing was out of
place, he sighed. It was perfect, a quiet night alone with the woman he
loved. Ben was just about to wake her up and usher her to the bathroom for
the first part of her romantic evening, when there was a knock on the
door.  ** Welsh looked at everyone one more time before knocking on the
door. They could hear the music coming from the other side and really
hoped they wouldn't be interrupting 'anything'. Ben opened the door and
peeked his head out instead of opening it the whole way like he normally
would. He was shocked to see everyone there. 'Not now, please don't let
them be staying' he thought sending a silent prayer. "Oh,...ah... Good
evening. What brings all of you here tonight?" Ben stuttered looking at
all the faces. "Constable, we just wanted to pay you a visit, see how
things were going with Analise, the usual." Lt. Welsh said feeling very
uncomfortable. He could smell the aroma from the apartment and knew there
was one hell of a dinner being prepared. This just didn't seem like such a
good idea anymore. "Well, that was very thoughtful of you, but Analise is
asleep right now. Perhaps if you'd care to come back tomorrow...." "We
don't mind waiting Constable" Meg added in what she hoped was an
authoritative tone. "That really wouldn't be necessary sir, I could have
her give you a call, perhaps later this evening?" Ben was desperate now.
He certainly didn't want them to come in and ruin what he had planned. Not
only that, but he could already hear the teasing around the squad room.
No, there was no way he could let them in. Taking a deep breath, he
mustered all the resolve he could. "I'm afraid you have come at an
inopportune time. I will tell Analise you inquired about her and will make
sure she gives you a call later." He almost had the door shut when Ray
stuck his foot in. "Benny, is something wrong?" "No Ray, why do you ask?"
Ben was nervously glancing towards the bedroom door hoping all the noise
didn't wake Analise up. He didn't want her to see the gift he had for her
until he was ready. "The last time you didn't let me in, Victoria was in
the apartment." As if a light bulb went off, Ray put two and two together
and came up with five. He grabbed his gun and looked at his friend. It
only took a second for everyone else to follow suit. Of course it would be
Victoria, she would want to take Analise out of the picture. "She's in
there isn't she?" Ray assumed a position by the door after nudging his
sister out of the line of fire. "Please Ray," Ben was begging now
"Victoria's not in here. There is no problem." "Constable, either you step
aside from the door, or we'll kick it in" Welsh spoke the words evenly
letting Ben know they meant business. Ben rested his head against the door
frame and sighed. Perhaps if they saw nothing was wrong, they would leave
quickly. He opened the door and moved back. The group rushed in and
scattered about the apartment, checking out every room. The only place
they hadn't checked was the bedroom and headed towards it. If Victoria was
here, it would stand to reason she would be using Analise as a hostage so
Ben would get rid of them. "No!" Ben practically yelled when he realized
what they were doing. It was too late, they kicked the door in and rushed
the room.  I jumped and sat straight up in bed when I heard a loud crack.
The Lt, Ray, Stan, Jack and Tom rushed into the room, guns drawn and
looked around. I couldn't help but let out an involuntary scream, they
scared the crap out of me! Ben pushed past them and into the room.
"Analise" he came over to my side and held me. "It's all right, just a
misunderstanding, there's nothing wrong" he assured me as he held me. I
watched as the cops checked the closets and any other hard to see corner.
"What is going on?" I demanded to know. Why was everyone in my bedroom
with guns drawn? Feeling foolish for over reacting, they put their guns
away and looked sheepishly at each other. "Perhaps one of you would care
to explain to us just what is going on?" Ben's tone left no doubt how
upset he was at the moment. They all hoped someone else would be the one
to start explaining and stared at the floor. Lt. Welsh finally opened his
mouth, but looked around at everyone and shut it again. "Ok, that's it." I
said as I got up. "All of you in the living room NOW. I'll be out in a
minute and I want some answers." I was angry to say the least. The seven
of them practically tripped over each other trying to get away from the
irate woman and it was on the way back into the living room that they saw
all the tell tale signs of a romantic evening planned. The bathroom door
was still open and they saw the bubble bath and candles, in the living
room they saw more candles, heard the soft music, smelled the dinner and
saw how beautifully the table was set. When their eyes rested on the
'gift' in the corner of the room, there was no denying how big a mistake
they made. Why hadn't they noticed it before? The front door was still
open and they had to really resist an urge to just run.  "Analise, why
don't you stay here. I'll find out what's going on and let you know." Ben
said trying to soothe her. Perhaps he could still salvage the evening. I
reached over and gave him a hug. "Something scared them enough to burst
into our house, Ben. There is something going on and we need to know what
it is. They wouldn't do that for no reason." I paused before adding "and
if they did, I'll have to get up anyway to kill them" Ben knew she was
right. He had been so upset with his plans messed up, he hadn't considered
why they did what they did. "You're right, let me help you get dressed." 
On the way into the living room, I glanced in the bathroom and saw the
candles and bubble bath. I looked up at Ben but he was looking down.
"Ben?" I asked nearing him, placing my hands on his chest. He slowly
looked at my face. "I wanted the night to be perfect for you." The look of
sadness in his eyes told me more than he said. "If your with me, then it
IS perfect." I gave him a hug and we continued into the living room.
Everyone was sitting 'red faced' and as I looked around, I noticed all the
romantic signs. The corner of the dining area caught my eye and I sucked
in my breath, I couldn't believe it. I slowly walked towards the two
mahogany wood cribs complete with the angels on clouds linen sets and ran
my hand over a guard rail. A big bow was wrapped around them and I looked
back at Ben "How did you know?" I whispered. Ben came over and wrapped his
arms around me. " I saw you on the way to the station last week, I was
watching from the window. Perhaps I was wrong to suggest waiting for some
big items." "They're perfect Ben." He wiped away a tear that fell down my
cheek and leaned down to give me a deep passionate kiss. When he finally
broke it off, we became aware of seven people trying to sneak out the
front door. "Freeze" we both said at the same time and looked at them.
Reluctantly, they came back in and shut the door. We sat down on the couch
and looked at everyone. "All right, who wants to start?" I asked. Everyone
looked over at Ray who cleared his throat. "Well, you see Analise, it's
like this. Dewey here had this idea that....." "Hey! Hold up Vecchio,
you're the one who started all this..." Tom interjected. "It was both your
doing" Frannie added. "We just wanted to help Fraser along" Ray added,
trying to make them see the logic in this. "Help me along with what?" Ben
was more confused as I was. "I told you it was a stupid idea" Stan said in
a smart-alek voice. "Hey, I didn't plan on a stalker!" Tom was quick to
defend his idea. The Lt. Rolled his eyes and looked up as if in silent
prayer. I knew he was getting ready to yell and I beat him to it. "All of
you knock it off!!" I shouted during a lull. "Frannie, tell me what's
going on." Everyone looked at her and waited, glad they didn't have to
explain. "All right. We wanted to help give Fraser a little nudge to have
him propose to you. I mean, it's obvious how he feels about you....."
Frannie paused, she knew how much it meant to Analise and didn't want to
be the one to tell her. "Well, we just thought he needed a little push. So
Dewey here got this great idea of maybe having someone else show some
interest in you. You know send you flowers and all. Maybe it would make
him think twice and move things along." "At least that's the way it was
supposed to happen." Ray interjected "but you went on bed rest we didn't
think too much about it.. When things started to arrive anyway, we thought
it was Stan." I looked over at the blond haired cop who was blushing. Stan
continued from there "I never sent anything, so we figured it had to be a
stalker. When Frannie said he was going to reveal himself tonight, we came
over." Ray continued. "If Benny would have just told us what was going on
we wouldn't have busted in. But he wouldn't open the door..." "So we
thought the stalker was already in the apartment." Meg sniffed "is
something burning?" Ben looked towards the kitchen "Oh dear!" He ran into
the kitchen and putting on a mit, opened the oven. A cloud of black smoke
came out. He placed their now ruined dinner on top of the stove and
sighed. "Benny, we're sorry. We had no idea" Ray said from behind him. Ben
turned back to them and leaning on the counter, folded his arms across his
chest. I came over and stood beside him, glancing at the pan trying to
figure out what it used to be. "Why would you think there is a stalker?"
He asked. "Someone was sending Analise all the flowers, candy and
things.." Stan said. Ben ran his hands across his face, exasperated.
"Stan, I sent Analise those things." "You?" Jack couldn't believe the
normally reserved Mountie was capable of it. "Yes, one day just didn't
seem enough to let her know how much I loved her. I wanted tonight to be
perfect when I gave her this." Ben looked over at me and pulled a small
ring out of his pocket. Frannie and Meg gasped. "I thought you said he
wasn't going to propose Detective." Meg was using her most intimidating
voice. "That's what Fraser told me." Ray said looking at his friend "I
told you that because I didn't want Analise to find out a head of time."
Ben replied not taking his eyes off of me. I stared at Ben oblivious to
everyone around us. Was he really proposing? I had dreamed of this moment
ever since we stood on the top of our mountain. He looked like he was
going to say something then paused, finally he spoke "You know, among the
Inuit, when two people love each other as much as we do, they are normally
tied together with a walrus pelt." "Literally? They really tie them
together?" When Ben nodded, I asked why. "They believe the couple will
become more effective..." I laughed interrupting him. "I think we've been
'effective' enough, don't you think?" Ben smiled at my meaning and placed
his free hand on my stomach. He continued "I thought perhaps when we get
home, we could have the shaman 'bond' us." "I'd like that " I said smiling
at him. My heart was beating a mile a minute. "Until then" Ben said as he
reached for my hand "I was wondering if....what I mean to say is....." Ben
discarded one approach after another. Finally the words came to him.
"Analise, you have made me complete. That's something I thought I'd never
feel. You've brought joy into my life, happiness into my heart, and you
have given me a family. Would you please do me the honor of becoming my
wife?" He moved to a kneeling position and held up a beautiful diamond
ring "Analise, will you marry me?" "I can't imagine wanting anything more
Ben. Yes, I'll marry you." Ben smiled and slipped the ring on my finger.
He then kissed my hand before leaning over to kiss belly. When Ben stood,
he took me in his arms, and slowly caressed my face letting his fingers
play across my lips. I reached up and kissed him until I was breathless.
When we finally remembered we weren't alone, we pulled back a little. But
looking around, the only thing we saw was the front door being quietly
closed.  ** "So have you set a date yet?" Frannie asked me as she popped
another grape in her mouth. "Not yet, but I want to wait until after the
babies are born. There is no way I'm having wedding pictures taken with me
as big as a house!" I replied rubbing my stomach. I was now at 35 weeks
and had been totally miserable for the past two. "Well, you wont have much
longer to wait." Meg chimed in. They had come over to help me pack a bag
for the hospital just in case. Things had been going along fairly well for
the pregnancy. The doctor was pleased that I hadn't had premature labor
pains, and the amniocentesis I had showed the babies were doing well. If I
could just make it another two weeks, he said their lungs should be mature
enough in case I went into labor. Ben was getting more nervous the closer
we got to the due date. We had planned on attending Lamaze classes, with
the bed rest though, we didn't have a chance. Too bad, I thought, I would
have loved to see Ben handle that. "Do you want this to go?" Meg asked
holding up a satin night gown. "No, I think I'll save that for later. Are
my flannel pajama's in there?" Frannie was digging in another drawer "here
they are." "Good, they have the easy button front." "Are you really
planning on breast feeding both babies?" Frannie asked as she folded them
and added them to the small suitcase. "Yep. I'll be expressing too, so
'daddy' can help with the late night feedings." We all got a laugh out of
that one. "Oh! Did you guys buy the car seats yet?" Meg was going down a
mental checklist, trying to remember everything her sister needed when her
nephew was born. "Sure did. Ben brought them home last week. They're in
the closet over there." Frannie took one out. "Ooohhh, it's so cute! This
is going to be so much fun!" She gushed. "For who? Hey, if you want to
trade places here just let me know." I said matter of factly. Meg came
over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "worried?" "No, I passed that a
month ago. Now I'm on the edge of a panic attack." Frannie sat down on the
other side of the bed. "Are you going to go through with it?" I knew what
she was talking about and nodded yes. Dr. Arns had wanted to schedule a
caesarian section for me, saying it would be less stress on my body, but I
didn't want to. The risk for the babies was about the same so I at least
wanted to try it the natural way first. They could always do one later if
complications arose. "That doesn't make it any easier though." I said as I
fiddled with the edge of the blanket. "I'm sure everything will be fine.
Don't forget, we'll be here for you also." Meg said as she leaned over to
give me a hug. "Hey, are you coming over next Sunday?" I really wanted to
be able to go to the church for Easter service, but Ben wouldn't go for
it. Instead he placated me by offering to invite everyone over that
evening. So far Lt. Welsh, and the duck boys had to decline, they'd be out
of town. And Ray and Frannie said they'd try to make it over later that
day. Everyone was happy for Stan who had somehow convinced Stella to go to
dinner with him but Meg was the only one I hadn't heard from yet. "I
wouldn't miss it." "Great!" I looked out onto the patio. "Look at that
weather! You'd think it would stop snowing by now." "I know. The radio
said we're supposed to get at least another foot by Sunday. Chicago hasn't
had this much snowfall in march since 1965. It's the temperature that's
doing it. If we only had a few more degrees, this would all be rain." I
looked at Meg, how she could rattle off facts like that amazed me. She was
almost like a female Ben. Must have something to do with being Canadian I
figured. Dief trotted into the bedroom. "Hi" I said as I rubbed him behind
the ears. "Ben must be home." I looked up in time to see him walk through
the bedroom door. "Ah... Good afternoon Inspector, Franchesca." He said
greeting the two women as he approached me. "And how is my favorite lady?"
"Perfect." I said as he rubbed my belly. When he leaned down and greeted
the 'kids' Meg and Frannie gave him a strange look. I was used to it
though. "Well, your bag is ready to go, we'll see you later." Meg stood up
along with Frannie. "Thanks guys. I'll give you a call later." Ben looked
over at the bag. "You've been busy?" "Well, I just want to be prepared
incase it's time." I grinned at him. Just mentioning the impending births
sent a small look of panic across his chiseled features. "Will Inspector
Thatcher be joining us on Sunday?" He said changing the subject. "Yep!
This is going to be so much fun. I wish I could help with the cooking
though." He sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm sure I can handle it." "But
have you ever made a traditional Greek Easter dinner before?" I asked
crossing my arms and resting them on my stomach. "Well, not directly, but
I did help to prepare a traditional Inuit...." I placed my fingers on his
lips silencing him, and he gave them a small kiss. "I'll supervise."
"Enough said."	   

** Ben opened the front door "good evening Ray, Franchesca I'm glad you
could make it." "We almost didn't. I haven't seen this much snow at the
beginning of April in years!" Ray said as Ben took his and Frannie's
coats. "Actually Ray, the last time Chicago received this much snow fall
was in 1965... Since then, there have only been...." "Benny?" "Yes Ray?"
He paused and looked at his friend. Normally he wouldn't hesitate to tell
him to be quiet, but it was Easter... "Never mind." "Understood Ray."  I
looked over at everyone standing by the door "hey, you guys gonna stand
there all night or do you want to come in?" "Hi Analise. Something sure
smells good." Frannie said as she sat down beside me. "I know, I've been
drooling all day. That Lamb's taking forever to cook!" I could almost
taste it now. "Where's Meg?" Frannie asked looking around. "She's in the
bedroom using the phone. With the weather, she wanted to make sure
everything was fine at the consulate." Ray sat down on the chair and
looked over at me "how's it going?" "Good. My lower back is killing me
though." I said rubbing the offending spot. Ben looked down at me "would
you like to lie down?" "No, I tried that earlier, no matter what position
I'm in, it doesn't change. I must have slept the wrong way last night."
"Hi Meg," Frannie said as she saw her come out of the bedroom. "Hello
Frannie, Ray." Ben looked over at her while handing Frannie and Ray some
drinks "I take it all is well at the consulate?" "Yes Fraser, the security
guard has made an additional check at my 'request'." "Ah, very well then.
Dinner is about ready, shall we?" Ben looked at all of us. * "This is
really good!" Ray said as he dished seconds onto his plate. "The credit
has to go to Analise, it was her family recipes." Ben tried to deflect the
praise in my direction. "I don't believe I was the one in the kitchen
cooking all day, Ben" I said deflecting it right back. "I must agree," Meg
added "this is the first time I've had a traditional Greek dinner, and I'm
pleasantly surprised." I rubbed my stomach again. "Excuse me." I said
getting up. This had to be the twentieth time I went to go to the
bathroom. "Are you sure you feel ok?" Ben was starting to get worried. "I
feel great. Can I help it if the babies like to sit on my bladder?" I said
disappearing down the hall again.  After dinner, we sat in the living room
having coffee and relaxing. It was getting pretty late and I had been
checking my watch for at least the past two hours. Ben knew I was
distracted, but didn't push for answers. It was about ten o'clock now and
I decided to let everyone in on the little secret I'd been keeping.
"Anyone have any plans for later?" I asked casually, looking around at
everyone. They just looked at me. Ray was the first to speak. "It is
pretty late Analise, shouldn't you be thinking of going to sleep?" "I
doubt I'll get any of that tonight." I answered him as I looked over at
Ben smiling. He just smiled back, clueless. I thought I'd try another
tactic. "What's the weather like outside?" "It's pretty bad. The snow is
coming down slowly, but it's laying on the ground. Driving is really
slow." Ray said. "How slow?" I asked looking out the window from my seat.
"Well, when we came, it took us about an extra half hour to get here."
"That was over four hours ago." Frannie added. Meg walked over to the
window and looked out. "It looks worse now. I'd say about 5 or 6 inches
are on the ground." I looked over at Ben "I guess we should get going
then, shouldn't we?" Ben stared at me. "Go where? Certainly you don't want
to go anywhere in this weather?" "Your right," I said sighing and looked
around "I suppose we *could* have the babies here. The bed is big enough,
and we can boil some water..." "What?!" Frannie and Ray said at the same
time. Ben came over to me. " Is it..... Are you ...That is...." He was
stammering and turning pale. "I have been having definite contractions for
at least the past two hours, Ben. I think it's safe to say we should go to
the hospital." "Two hours! Why didn't you tell us?" Ben was shocked.
"Early labor can last a very long time Ben. And Dr. Arns said not to come
in until they are about 10 minutes apart." "Your contractions are 10
minutes apart?!" Ray asked getting ready to panic. Ben was staring at me
opened mouthed. "No" They breathed collective sigh of relief. And I looked
down at my watch as another one started. They were getting more intense a
lot quicker than I had anticipated. "Now they're 8 minutes apart." Total
chaos erupted as Ben, Ray and Frannie scrambled around the apartment
grabbing things. Meg appeared from the bedroom with my shoes and suitcase.
"Thanks" I said to her putting my shoes on. "Do you think they'll survive
tonight?" I looked around at the three of them fumbling with coats and
running back and forth. She looked at me "they're worse than the three
stooges." We both laughed at that and I hissed as a particularly strong
contraction went through me. "Did anyone call the doctor yet?" Meg asked
"I'm on it." Ray said picking up the phone. "The number is on the pad
there" Ben pointed to the table and came over to my side. "Just take deep
breaths, calm down, we'll get you there" He looked like he was going to
hyperventilate.      

We made it to the parking lot and Ben ushered me over to the riv. "Oh
dear, there isn't going to be enough room for everyone." Ben said looking
at the accommodations. Meg, who had been the only calm person this entire
time besides myself spoke up. "Frannie and I can take my car Fraser. You
just get Analise to the hospital." She looked pointedly at Ray with the
last comment. "Hey, I'll get her there" Ray's voice held a definite edge.
A moan escaped my lips as I leaned against the car. Ben opened the door
and I got into the back seat so I could lie down. Ben climbed in with me,
squatting on the edge of the seat. No sooner were we situated, did Ray
pull out with lights and sirens blaring.  "Man I don't believe this!" Ray
said as he blared his horn. "The traffic's at a stand still,they can't
move out of my way!" We only lived ten blocks from the hospital, it
shouldn't have taken us more than 15 minutes to drive there. What was
taking so long? "Ben?" I squeaked out, in between contractions. "I'm right
here" he said as he pushed my hair out of my face. "How much farther is
it?" Ben looked at Ray through the rear view mirror and they knew they
were running out of time. They had been trying to get to the hospital for
almost 45 minutes now. Ray called dispatch one more time. "Where the hell
is that ambulance?" The voice over the radio was breaking up "sent
out....can't get through,.....traffic....." "This is just great" he
mumbled to himself. Ben looked back down at Analise, "breath honey, take
deep breaths." He looked down when he felt wetness on the seat. "Oh dear."
Ray looked in the rear view at him again. "What?" Ben schooled his
features "nothing Ray." But to himself he was wondering how easy it would
be to get amniotic fluid out of upholstery. "I have to push" I managed to
say when the last contraction subsided. "NO!" Ray turned around from the
front seat "you are not having those babies in this car" I tried to smile
at him "you'd better hurry then" Ben looked like he was going to faint and
Ray looked back out at the road. "That's it! I'm taking higher ground!" He
shifted the riv into low and I groaned as we went over a bump. "It's
alright" Ben crooned "Ray has found an opening" Ben looked as Ray drove
down the sidewalk. Normally he would never allow such a thing, but they
were only about six blocks from the hospital and if he thought about it,
there really weren't too many people out walking tonight. "Ben! The baby's
coming!" I cried as I tried to resist the urge to push. Ben pulled my
pants off and looked down. "Oh dear!" He looked over at Ray "you better
hurry, she's crowning." Ray clutched the wheel and Ben started to take off
his leather jacket. "It's all right Analise, we're almost there" he looked
up at me and tried to smile "the head's out." He gently supported it as
the baby's shoulders rotated. "Your almost there, Analise" Ray was back on
the radio, "patch me through to the hospital now! She's delivering in the
car" "Here we go, one more push honey" Ben said. I looked at him and
nodded. When I felt the urge to push, I bore down Ben caught the baby as
it came out and held the blue, lifeless form. There was no noise as Ben
cleaned the mucus out of it's mouth. "Come on...come on...." He was saying
under his breath. Ray skidded the riv to a stop in front of the emergency
entrance. There was already a team of doctors waiting for us. "What's
wrong Ben?" I asked, panic setting in. Ben had placed the baby in his
jacket to keep it warm and was blowing gently into it's mouth. Right
before the door opened, I could hear a feeble cry. "It's ok, Analise,
she's ok..." He held the baby close to him with relief and then placed her
on my stomach. "A girl?" I asked looking down at the beautiful dark haired
baby. "We have a daughter" Ben choked out as tears formed in his eyes. He
leaned over to give me a kiss as the medical team took over. They managed
to get me on a stretcher, with the baby still on my stomach and rushed us
into the delivery area. Ben and Ray were close behind and I was calling
for Ben. There was no way he was leaving my side now. "I'm here Analise"
he said as he took hold of my hand. He had somehow managed to find
hospital gown and mask. The doctor's cleaned up the baby and took her
vitals. I could hear them talking around us. "Apgar's 8 at 5 minutes."
"Placenta hasn't been expelled yet." Came another voice. "Daddy, you want
to do the honors?" One of the doctor's said, holding up a pair of
scissors. Ben paused for a moment and looked down at the little form. His
hand shook as he took them from the doctor and snipped the umbilical cord.
She was then whisked away to an awaiting bassinet and taken from the room.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "Nothing Ms. Jensen" Dr. Arns replied and it was
only then I realized he was the doctor giving the orders. "It's just a
precaution we take with all preemies. She's doing fine. However, your not
finished yet." I groaned and looked up Ben. His eyes were full of concern
and something else I had never seen before. "Thank you" he whispered by my
ear, as he pushed my hair back in a relaxing rhythm. I closed my eyes and
tried to rest. I hadn't had any contractions since Jacinda was born. Ben
looked over at the doctor who was busy with the placenta. "Shouldn't she
be having the other baby by now?" "Relax daddy, her body is just resting,
it will happen soon enough." As he passed the placenta off to a nurse I
felt a gush. "Whoa, here we go. Amniotic fluid's clear, no signs of
stress." I felt the beginnings of another contraction and clutched Ben's
hand. "It's all right, just breath" he said to me, his eyes not leaving
what the doctor was doing. "Damn!" I heard the doctor remark. "Analise,
don't push, I know it's hard but you mustn't push."  He looked over at
Ben, "help her with her breathing" "What's wrong?" I demanded to know. "We
have a footling here." "What do you mean, a footling?" Ben asked as he
looked on. "The baby is breech it's common with twins. Instead of the head
coming first, this little one has decided to stick a foot out. Try not to
push and we'll see if we can turn it around." The pain was getting worse
and I closed my eyes. Ben was breathing along with me. "That's it Analise,
quick breaths." Ben watched as the doctor gently pushed the foot back in
and a nurse helped him apply pressure to the outside of Analise's stomach.
He knew it was painful for Analise and he did his best to support her
while keeping an eye on things. He had never felt as helpless in his
entire life as he did just then. "OK, that should do it. The next time you
get an urge to push, go ahead." I heard the doctor say and nodded my head
in response. "Constable, if you can help her sit up a little during this
next contraction, it will help things along some." "Understood" I could
feel my muscles tightening and moaned, taking deep breaths in preparation.
"Aahhh!" Ben helped me up "push honey...push..." "OK, hold it." The doctor
said as I struggled trying to push as long as possible. When I was able to
lie down again, I was through. "I've had enough," I said, "I want to go
home now.... I'll come back later" The doctor laughed "your almost there
Analise, just a little more." I shook my head no "knock me out, anything,
now.... Right now..." Ben leaned over me "hang on we're almost here."
"Analise, it's too late to give you any drugs, but just think, you can say
you had natural childbirth." The doctor chuckled. I didn't have time to
respond as another wave of pain took over. "Push!" The doctor bellowed and
I did my best to comply. "OK, the heads out". He siphoned the nose and
mouth out with a bulb syringe and looked up and Ben and myself. "One more
push and that should be it." Ben squeezed my hand. "Did I tell you how
much I love you today?" He said, trying to take my mind off of things.
"No, but if you trade places with me, I'll believe you." He kissed my
forehead and I felt the pain start again. "Here we go" the doctor said.
Ben supported me as I pushed with all my might. "It's a boy!" The doctor
said as the cry of a baby could be heard echoing in the room. "You have a
son." I started to cry as the doctor placed him on my stomach. I looked up
to see Ben crying and he pulled down his mask to kiss me. "He's so
beautiful." Ben's voice held a certain awe. "You up for the honors again
daddy?" The doctor said holding out the scissors. This time, when I saw
Ben reach for the scissors, his hand didn't shake. He cut the lifeline
between mother and child and smiled down at me. They took him away just as
quick and when Ben leaned down, I hugged him for a long time. It took us
another hour before I was able to go to recovery. After I was settled in
recovery Ben went to check on the babies, the nurse told us they would be
in the NICU for at least a few days to monitor their condition. * Ray was
pacing back and forth in the waiting room when Meg and Frannie ran into
the room. "How is she?" Meg asked. "I don't know" he said as he ran his
hand over his head. "We got caught in the traffic and she had one of the
babies in the car. Benny was giving it CPR when we got to the hospital. I
haven't heard anything since." "Oh God..." Frannie whispered as she hugged
herself. "How long have you been waiting?" Meg was wondering how long it
actually took him to get to the hospital. She didn't think Frannie and
herself would make it at all. They had to park the car 4 blocks down and
walk the rest of the way. " It's been almost two hours." Ben was walking
down the hall way on the way to the nursery when he heard Ray's voice. He
peeked his head in the door. "Ray?" "Thank God, Benny!" Ray said spotting
his friend. "How is she Fraser?" Meg asked at the same time. "What
happened?" Frannie said as she neared him. Ben backed up a little.
"Analise is fine. They just moved her to recovery." Ben paused as the
events of the last few hours replayed in his mind. "What about the
babies?" Ray impatiently asked. "They're fine Ray. We have a girl and a
boy." There was definite contentment in his voice and he was beaming ear
to ear. "Congratulations Benny!" Ray said giving him a hug. "That's
wonderful news" Meg said as she gave him a hug. "I can't believe it, a boy
and a girl" Frannie said as she took her turn hugging him. "That is so
great!" "I'm on my way to see them now if any of you would care to come
along?" Ben asked already knowing the answer to that question. "Lead the
way daddy "Ray answered emphasizing the word daddy.  ** The four people
looked into the window at the NICU and searched the room for the babies,
but they were too far away to see who was who. Ben tapped on the window to
get a nurse's attention. She picked up a phone on her side of the window
and motioned for Ben to do the same. "May I help you?" The nurse asked
eying the people. "Yes, my name's Benton Fraser, I was told my children
were brought down here?" She motioned for him to wait and went to the
nurses station to get a chart. Another nurse came up to her and as they
talked, Ben recognized her as one of the nurses in the delivery room. The
first nurse came back to the window again and motioned for him to go
around to a door. Everyone else stayed at the window waiting. After Ben
had scrubbed and donned another gown, mask and gloves, he was finally led
to the babies. They lay side by side in covered bassinets. There were
monitors hooked to them and each had an IV sticking out from a tiny arm.
Emotions overwhelmed him and he fought back his tears. They looked so
small, frail. He gently stuck his hand into the hole of one of the
bassinets and stroked his daughters back. His hand was almost the size of
her entire body. He then repeated the movement with his son. He looked up
at a nurse "are they all right?" "The doctor will be here shortly and
he'll be able to answer any questions you have." "Excuse me," Ben looked
as a nurse came up from behind "there are some people at the window for
you sir" "Oh dear" Ben had forgotten all about Ray, Meg, and Franchesca
waiting for him. He looked at the nurse who was reading the printouts from
the machines behind the babies. "Would it be possible for my friends to
see the babies?" He asked. She looked over at them waiting by the window.
"Sure, we can wheel the bassinets over for a minute." Ben helped her
maneuver them to the window and watched as all three gushed at the little
ones. He was never so proud in his entire life. They looked perfect. Both
had dark brown, almost black hair and a head full at that! He didn't know
what their eye color was yet, but knew it could be any number of
combination with his being blue and Analise's eyes being brown. Robert
scrunched up in the bassinet and fussed a little. Ben immediately squatted
down so he was face level and talked to him while lightly stroking his arm
through the opening in the plastic. After a few more protests, he settled
down and drifted back to sleep. "We need to take the babies back now" the
nurse said and Ben readily complied. His three friends waved to him that
they were going to go, and Ben stayed with his family, waiting for the
doctor.  ** I was exhausted, but I couldn't sleep. There were so many
emotions running through me I had a hard time sorting them out. I was
elated and terrified at the same time of being a mother. I wanted to see
the babies so bad.... Ben had gone to the nursery almost an hour ago and
hadn't returned. "Hello" I jumped as a nurse entered the room. I was so
lost in thought I hadn't heard her come in. "I'm nurse Smyser, but you can
call me Dori. Let's see how you're doing." She examined me and after a few
minutes spoke. "You have to knead your stomach, or have your husband help
you- like this. I know it's sore" she continued when I winced "but it will
help you get out of recovery faster." I nodded in reply and had to ask
"can I see my babies?" "You're the one who had the twins?" "Uh-huh" "They
are so cute! I always check the new arrivals when I start my shift. Right
now though, they are in the NICU and can't leave. Will you be nursing?"
"Yes" "I'll bring in a pump so you can express until you're able to go see
them." "Thank you" I tried not to let my disappointment show. "For now,
you need to take care of you" she said with a smile. "I'll make sure she
does." Ben said entering the room. I smiled at him relieved. If something
were wrong with the babies, he wouldn't leave them. I watched as he put
some papers he had on the bed tray and came over to give me a kiss. When
he pulled back he smiled at me. "They're beautiful Analise, just like
their mother" The nurse was still kneading my stomach and tapped Ben on
the arm. "Here daddy, you can take over." She said showing him what to do.
"I'll be back in a little while with the pump." After she left I asked Ben
to tell me how the babies were doing. "The doctor said they will probably
be in the newborn intensive care unit for a few days. Their lungs weren't
fully matured and they need to gain some weight, but all in all, he said
they are doing quite well for being born at 36 weeks and two days." I
relaxed a little. He had been thorough when it came to describing their
condition but I wanted more. "Ben, tell me about *them*" He stretched out
on the bed beside me while continuing to knead my stomach with one hand.
"Jacinda weighs 4 pounds 13 ounces and is 18 inches long. She has a
headful of dark straight hair with just the hint of curl and she has her
mother's nose and lips." Ben smiled and caressed my lips when he said
that. "Robert on the other hand weighs 5 pounds 1 ounce and is 18 ľ inches
long. He also had a headful of dark hair, but his has a definite curl"
"Like his father" I couldn't help adding and Ben sighed with pride. "They
weren't awake so I couldn't see what color their eyes were." He pouted a
little with that last statement and I laughed. Ben reached over and took
the papers off the table. "I thought you might like these" he said handing
me two Polaroid's with their names written on the bottom of each. "Oh
Ben... They're beautiful..." I was enthralled by the pictures and stared
at them as if my life depended on it. "Just like you." He repeated, his
voice low, husky. I felt my body respond and took a deep breath to compose
myself. I made up my mind that instant "I want to see them." I said as I
started to get out of bed. Ben wrapped his arm around my waist holding me
back. "Analise, you have to rest. The doctor said when you get to your
room you can visit them as much as you like. You're never going to get to
your room though, if you don't take it easy." Sighing, I leaned back into
his embrace and he started rubbing my stomach again. "I hate waiting" Now
it was my turn to pout. "I'll wait with you." He said, trying to console
me. The nurse picked that moment to come back into the room. She wheeled a
small cart in and when she saw Ben lying on the edge of the bed with me,
she smiled. "You know, if you want to spend the night, when your wife goes
to her room the chairs there turn into beds." "No,... well what I mean is
yes, I would like to spend the night, but no I wasn't ....." Ben gave up,
too embarrassed to continue and I helped him out. "He was just telling me
about the babies." I said as he jumped out of the bed as if it was on
fire. "I see" she said with a big smile on her face. "You're going to have
to do this every other hour until the babies are out of intensive care.
It's really simply to work," she said as she plugged it into the wall,
"and when you go to your room, we'll have one there for you." "Will I be
moved soon?" I asked knowing the minute they moved me I'd be in the NICU.
"So far everything's looking good but Dr. Arns will have to make that
call." When Ben saw what the nurse was preparing to do, he turned a bright
red and busied himself by looking out the window. Never mind the fact it
was pitch black and he couldn't see anything.  *** When Ben wheeled me to
the NICU the next morning, I was excited and nervous all at the same time.
The door buzzed open and it was overwhelming to see all the machines and
bassinets. It was just so sad. We were led to the scrub area, and after
out id bracelets were checked I was finally allowed to see my babies. They
looked so small and frail in the bassinets. "Here" Ben said maneuvering me
closer "you can stick your hand in here." Tentatively I reached in and
touched my son's head. He was so tiny. When I touched his hand, tiny
fingers wrapped around mine. "Well good morning sunshine" I softly greeted
him. I felt Ben wrap his arms around me and sigh. When I looked back at
him he looked contented. A noise from my right caught my attention and I
looked over to see Jacinda fusing. Ben pushed her bassinet closer so I
could reach her. "There, there.... Mommy's here. There's no need to fuss."
I gently rubbed her back as she sucked on her fist. Looking up at Ben I
smiled. "She's hungry." The nurse who had been standing quietly by
observing us spoke up. "Would you like to feed her?" I was stunned. They
had woke me up through the night to express for the babies, but I didn't
think I would be able to feed them so soon. "Can I?" She laughed a little.
"Sure, let's go over to the nursing area." Ben wheeled me over as the
nurse took Jacinda from the bassinet. After pulling the curtain closed for
privacy, the nurse placed a pillow on my lap and handed me our daughter.
Ben was squatting beside me committing every detail to memory. No sooner
had Jacinda started to nurse, we heard Robert fuss. "You'd better get used
to that." The nurse said as she handed Robert to Ben and gave him a bottle
that I had expressed earlier. "Why don't you sit here." She said as she
pulled up a chair for Ben, making sure we faced each other. *** Four days
later the babies were doing so well, we were able to take them home. Ray
showed up to drive us and both men fussed with the car seats for almost an
hour before deciding they were properly secured. Ben sat in the middle of
the back seat so he could reach both Jacinda and Robert in case they
needed anything. I sat in the front with Ray. I was relieved that he
actually obeyed every traffic law on the way to the apartment and was even
more relieved that he finally stopped bringing up how much effort it took
to clean his back seat. When we got home I was a little surprised to see
Ma Vecchio and Frannie in the apartment. As soon as Ma saw us, she bustled
over to the babies and started talking to them in Italian. The bassinets
had been set up in the living room and Ben carefully picked up Robert and
Jacinda one at a time and gave each a kiss before gently placing them
down. Dief sniffed the air around the babies for a good ten minutes before
curling up in front of the bassinets. Everyone who came near the twins
received his undivided attention and I knew he had taken it upon himself
to protect the newest members of the family. "Benton caro, I have made you
and Analise a weeks worth of meals. Just put them in the oven to heat. The
both of you will be busy enough for a while." Ma said as she continued to
make sandwiches for lunch. "Thank you kindly Ma" Ben said as he gave her a
hug. That woman always seems to know what people need before they do. A
knock on the door caught our attention. "I'll get it" Ray said.
"Detective" Meg greeted him as she walked through the door. "So, you
finally decided to give your poor staff a break from your dictatorship?"
"Very funny Vecchio" looking around the room she spotted Ben. "Ah Fraser,
I wanted to bring by your leave papers myself. They've been approved and
you have six weeks of paid leave starting today." "Thank you sir, would
you care to stay for lunch?" Meg paused for a moment. "Yes, that would be
lovely." Ben took her coat and she went over to the bassinets. Dief
growled and Meg glared at him. "I can always use a new pair of earmuffs."
The wolf whined and crawled under the dining table, but continued to eye
her. "That's what I thought." Meg added as she looked at the babies. "Now
that the babies are born, when are you two going to get married?" Frannie
asked out of the blue. I looked over at Ben. We hadn't really discussed
the marriage with everything that was going on. I spoke up. "We really
haven't set a date yet." "There's no time like the present" Ben and I both
turned to the new speaker to see Bob Fraser standing by the babies, cooing
and making faces. He didn't seem to realize they were asleep and couldn't
see him. I had seen more of Bob since the babies were born than I did the
entire time I was pregnant. I couldn't blame him though, he had waited so
long for grandchildren. Ben looked over at me to see if I had also noticed
his father and then turned back to Frannie who was talking again. "Don't
you think you should? We can have the wedding at St. Michael's and I could
cater...." Frannie was on a roll and the more she talked, the bigger the
plans were getting. "Actually" Ben interrupted her when it became apparent
that she wasn't going to pause for breath. "I think we would prefer
something small. Perhaps just a few close friends. St. Michael's would be
a little much." "Why don't we have it at the house?" Ray offered. "We
could do it in the back yard." "Ramundo that's a wonderful idea" Ma said
clasping her hands together. "I still think a big wedding would be
better." Frannie interjected. "Don't you think it's a little cold to have
a outside wedding?" I asked. "Cold? When I married Benton's mother it was
twenty below and we still went skinny dipping afterwards." Bob said as he
now looked over Ma's shoulder while she finished preparing lunch. "You
would need a month or two to plan everything. Why not set a date in June?"
Meg suggested. I looked at Ben who didn't seem to have any objections. "As
long as I don't have to skinny dip- it sounds good." Ben laughed while
everyone else looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. Jacinda started to
fuss. Ben and I both started to get up but Ray beat us to it. Ma was
putting the tray of sandwiches on the table and Frannie was helping her
with the drinks. "Hey... What's all this fussing for?" Ray said as he
picked her up and placed her on his shoulder. "Uncle Ray's got you." I saw
Jacinda's face scrunch up "Ray..." Too late. "Aww! Geez! Benny come and
get her." Ray said as he held her out to her daddy. "I'm terribly sorry
Ray. I'm sure that will come out." Ben said as he cradled Jacinda in his
arms. "She's just like you Fraser. Not even a week old and she's already
ruining my suits!" Ray complained as he tried to salvage his jacket.  **
TWO MONTHS LATER "You ready to go?" Meg asked looking at her watch. "Our
appointment is in 45 minutes." "I'm not sure about this Meg." I replied
packing the babies diaper bag. "The twins just had their two month shots
and they might be fussy." I was trying my best to stall "That was two days
ago Analise. I'm sure between the three of us we can handle them" Frannie
said as she shook a rattle over Jacinda. "Besides, you've put this off
long enough. The wedding is in two weeks and you need to pick out a gown."
Meg said as she picked up one of the baby carriers. "See, that's where you
lose me." I replied as I grabbed the other. "I would feel strange wearing
a white gown. Why can't I just wear a nice summer dress? There is only
going to be about ten people there anyway." You would have thought I just
told Frannie I was going to wear a pair of jeans with the way she looked
at me. "You gotta wear a gown. Fraser will be wearing his dress reds.
You'll throw the pictures off if you don't and Ma will..." "Ok Frannie" I
said before she hyperventilated "I'll look at some."  This turned out to
be a long afternoon as Meg and Frannie had me try on one gown after
another. Their tastes were so varied and neither one would budge on the
style. There were quite a few simple gowns I wouldn't have minded but
*something* was always wrong with them according to Frannie or Meg. I had
tuned out their bickering about a half hour ago and stood looking in the
triple mirror at the gown I now wore. It was simple, but had a certain
charm to it. Looking at the exasperated clerk I smiled. "This one will be
fine." "Wonderful" she replied before glancing at the two women. "Don't
worry, it's my decision." She looked in her book for me to set a time for
the fitting and before I went in to change, I approached the two women.
"What do you think?" I said drawing their attention. Both stopped and
stared at me. "That looks wonderful Analise" Meg said. "Well, it's on the
plain side. What about something with more poof?" Frannie asked critically
looking me over. "I want this one Frannie" "I suppose it is more your
style than mine." She finally conceded. I went to change and Meg dropped
us off at the Vecchio house.  After feeding the babies, Ma took over so
Frannie and I could go to the station. She had to check in and I knew Ben
would be there so I wanted to surprise him with a nice dinner alone in a
restaurant We hadn't been out since the babies were born and I was sorely
missed being a woman, not a mommy. I didn't plan on anything fancy. Just a
nice restaurant maybe a long walk..... "Are you sure you can convince Ben
to go?" Frannie asked as we entered the station. "I don't see why not. The
babies are fine and we really need some alone time, if you know what I
mean" I said with a suggestive glance at her. Frannie's eyes grew big
"what, you mean to tell me you haven't...." "Not since the doctor put me
on bed rest. That's something I'm gonna change this evening." "How did you
two wait so long?" "After the doctor gave me the go ahead at my six week
post partum check, I've wanted to. Ben however, has had other priorities.
Every time I try, he thinks he hears one of the babies, or he'll say,
'what if they wake up?'. I'm about ready to throw that man to the ground
and take advantage of him!" Frannie laughed. "I hope you're uh...
*prepared*" Frannie said giving me a knowing look. "Oh trust me" I said as
I leaned over and showed her the contents of my purse. Earlier I had
bought two boxes of Lucky 13 condoms, best brand Trojan ever made. Nothing
was going to stop me tonight. "I'd say Fraser is in for the time of his
life." Frannie said as we entered the bullpen.	**** Ben was sitting at
Stan's desk waiting for the detective to come out of Lt. Welsh's office.
The squad room was almost completely empty. Then again, it always was on a
Friday night at 5:30 pm. He didn't see Lisa approach him until it was too
late for him to duck out of the room. Ever since the party they threw for
him almost a year ago Lisa had mellowed out. Well, mellowed out for her.
She still didn't hesitate to let him know how she thought of him. "Hello
Benton" she crooned as she slid up to him. "Uh... Lisa, how are you?" Ben
stammered as he stood. That way he would be in a good position to make a
getaway. "I'm *perfect*" she purred easing herself closer to him. Ben
backed away with each step she took. "Well, that's....that's good to hear.
If you'll excuse me..." Ben tried to break right but she cut him off. "I
hear you are getting married." Lisa said as she fingered the buttons on
his uniform. "Yes, yes I am. As a matter of fact, it's only two weeks
away." Ben ran out of room as his rear hit a desk behind him. "It's such a
shame" she was now pressed up against him and Ben desperately looked
towards Welsh's office hoping Stan would come out. "What is a shame?" He
asked trying to find an opening. She was really pressed against him in an
inappropriate manner. "A man as handsome as yourself taking himself off
the market. There is so much you'll be missing!" "I'm not quite sure which
market you are eluding to." Ben's eyes grew wide as she leaned closer to
his face. He arched back to try and distance himself. "This is what I'm
talking about" Lisa said as she pressed his back into the top of the desk
and climbed on top of him, kissing him deeply.	** I stood in the doorway
with a look of horror as I saw Ben sprawled across a desk with a woman on
top of him. She was obviously enjoying herself. Frannie gasped as she
noticed them and yelled at the top of her lungs "what do you think you're
doing!?" I don't know which one she was referring the question to, and I
didn't care. The noise was enough to bring Stan and Welsh out of the
office. Lisa jumped up and Ben scrambled up from his position trying to
straighten his uniform. He looked over at me. "Analise! I...uh..." My
heart was beating a mile a minute. I couldn't believe what I just saw. "I
don't believe this" Stan said from the doorway of Welsh's office. "What's
going on?" I said quietly looking at Lisa. She stood defiantly as I neared
her. "I was just showing Benton here what a real woman feels like." By
this time, Stan and Welsh had moved closer to the scene. Ben stood frozen
in place. "I believe I told you once before to keep your hands off him."
"What are you going to do about it?" She was only inches from my face now,
practically daring me to do something. The first thought that went through
my head was to pound her senseless. Ben picked that moment to come to life
"I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding." He said as he stepped
forward. I turned my glare on him. "Really? You think? So lets say Stan
here were to do the same thing to me Ben. Would you consider that a
misunderstanding?" Ben's gaze shifted to the stunned cop. I looked back
over at the smug face in front of me and figured what the hell. I threw a
punch that knocked her across the desk and onto the floor. After she
landed I moved towards her and was blocked by Ben. Everyone was
speechless. "Get out of my way Ben." I said as coldly as I could.
"Analise, this wont solve anything" Ben pleaded as he placed his hands on
my shoulders. Lt. Welsh was helping up Lisa who was doing her best to keep
her lip from bleeding on her clothes. "Oh really- well it seems to me if
you would have told her no from the get-go, I wouldn't have had to do
anything, now would I? Take your hands off me and get out of my way."
Everyone in the room was quiet and Lisa moved back a step, not quite sure
if they would protect her. After a long pause, Ben spoke. "I can't do
that." his voice was barely audible. I looked at Ben as if he had hit me.
How could he choose to protect her? He had just picked her over me. I
looked at everyone and then back to Ben. I just couldn't believe it.
Shaking my head, I turned to leave. "Analise" Ben grabbed my arm to stop
me, but I yanked out of the hold. "How could you? How could you do that to
me?" Without taking my eyes off him, I dug around my purse and feeling a
box of condoms, threw it in Lisa's direction. "Here, looks like you will
be needing this more than me." "Please, you don't understand" Ben said one
more time trying to explain his actions to me. "Save it." I said as I
stormed out the room. * Ben started after Analise but before he could
reach the door, a comment stopped him. "I want her arrested on assault
charges." Lisa's demeanor changed the minute Analise left the room. She
had won. Ben spun back around and walked up to her so intently Lisa
instinctively took a step closer to Welsh. Without taking his eyes off of
her, he spoke. "Leftenant, if she so much as thinks of pressing any
charges against Analise, I want to file my own for sexual assault and
harassment." Welsh smiled for the first time since this whole incident
started. "I think that can be arranged Constable." "You wouldn't dare"
Lisa said glaring at him. "Wouldn't I?" Ben's expression was hard. Analise
was right, he should have stood up to this woman a long time ago. "It's
your word against mine. I'll say you came on to me." Stan folded his arms
against his chest "I don't think so, see I saw you assault Fraser here,
and I am more than willing to testify on his behalf." "That goes for me
too." Frannie said coming up to stand beside Stan. Lisa's mouth hung open
and she looked at everyone. Knowing his point had been made, Ben left the
bullpen to look for Analise. "Lisa, my office now. We need to discuss your
future employment." Stan and Frannie watched them disappear into the
office and then looked at each other. "I can't believe she belted her like
that" Stan said laughing. "Hey, it's about time. I thought she should have
done it a year ago." Frannie said looking at the box of condoms still on
the floor. She picked them up and put them in her purse. **** I walked
briskly down the street not caring where I was going. How could he protect
her like that? This is just as much his fault as it is hers. Am I supposed
to just say 'hey, no problem honey, just let all those women continue to
molest you because you don't want to stand up for yourself'? Maybe he
likes it when they do that. I don't know. I reached an intersection and
looked to see which direction to go. This evening certainly didn't turn
out the way I had planned. I decided to head back to the Vecchio's to pick
up the babies. "Analise!" I looked back to see Ben about a block back
running towards me. I was so angry with him. Looking around, I spotted a
man getting out of a cab and made a bee line for it. I jumped in the back
seat just as Ben reached the corner. "Where to?" The driver asked looking
in the rear view mirror. "Just drive, now!" "You got it." As he pulled
out, I laid my head back on the seat. Why? Why can't anything be simple
with that man? --THUNK-- "What was that?" I asked sitting up. The cab
driver was looking around and I screamed when I saw Ben lean his head in
the window. He was hanging on to the roof of the cab. "Analise, please we
need to talk." Ben said. "You're crazy Ben! Are you trying to get yourself
killed?" The driver screeched to a halt and Ben went flying off the roof,
over the hood, taxi sign and all. 

My heart was in my throat as I saw Ben hit the ground, and couldn't
believe it when he rolled and stood up. 

"No, no, no. Not you again" the cabbie was yelling rubbing his head. "You
got something against me? Why you always picking my cab?" "I am terribly
sorry" Ben said handing the man the sign from the top of his cab. I stared
at Ben not believing he actually jumped onto the cab. I mean, I've
listened to all the stories Ray, Stan and everyone had told me, but I
thought they were exaggerating them. No one would be that stupid. Ben
opened the back door and looked in at me. "Will you please talk to me?"
There was a slight edge to his voice, but I wasn't budging this time. "I
have nothing to say to you." I said crossing my arms and looking out the
window. "Fine, then just listen" he climbed into the vacant seat and shut
the door. "What do you think you're doing?" I couldn't believe his nerve.
"I didn't provoke that...." He paused searching for the right word
"contact... Between Lisa and myself." "You never do, do you? Is that
supposed to make it ok?" "Hey, are you two gonna go somewhere or not?" The
cabbie asked. "No" "Yes" Ben and I replied at the same time. He sighed and
turned back around. "I don't want to talk to you Ben." I said getting out
of the cab. "Analise!" Ben quickly paid the driver and came after me.
"You're right. I should have stood up for myself a long time ago. It will
never happen again." I continued to walk, not looking at him. He still
chose her over me. That's not something I'm willing to forget. "You stood
there and protected her. I can't believe you would take up for her and not
me! You should have been the first to volunteer to hold her down so I
could finish the job!" I stopped walking and faced him. "You know what I'm
thinking? I'm thinking that maybe you liked her flirting with you and
making advances." He looked as if I had slapped him "is that what you
really think?" I looked at him for a minute and then looked down, I
couldn't lie to him. "No." Ben let out a relieved breath and wrapped his
arms around me, pulling me closer to him. "I did not chose her over you.
How could I? But I also couldn't let you drum the tar out of her either."
I looked up at him. "Don't you mean 'beat' the tar out of her." Ben
scrunched his face up as if he was trying to embed an important fact to
memory. "Beat, beat the tar out of her. I have got to remember that." He
continued on a more serious note. "Analise, why do you think she acts the
way she does?" That was an easy question. "Because she's a slut." Ben led
me over to a bench and we sat down. "I believe she is lonely and afraid
she will always be lonely. Perhaps that's why she throws herself at men.
If you think about it, she deserves our pity." I looked at him as if he'd
grown a second head "I don't think so." "Maybe not, but she is certainly
jealous of what we have." He was fingering his eyebrow as he spoke. "All
right Ben, I'll let this drop as long as she never, and I mean never, lays
a single finger on you again. If I find out she does though...."
"Understood" Ben said as he kissed my hand and smiled at me. "Perhaps now
you can tell me where the babies are?" I blushed a little "Ma is watching
them, *overnight*." I waited as my words sunk in and at first, his look
was one of concern, but quickly changed to comprehension. It was his turn
to blush. Ben looked down at his uniform."Ah, well then, we should
probably go home so I can change." I thought of the one box of condoms
still in my purse. "Good idea." 

*** 

Ben was lying on the floor with Jacinda and Robert on his chest. He was
taking turns lifting both into the air and giving them the 'puffin face'
until they smiled. 

"You know you're spoiling them Ben" I said teasing him. I loved watching
him play with the twins, he couldn't seem to get enough of them. 

"I believe someone is jealous" Ben replied giving me a sideways glance. 

"Oh really? Jealous?" Ben was making the puffin face at Robert now, but
watching my movements out of the corner of his eye. I had left the kitchen
and was slowly nearing him. When I was close enough, Ben took my hand and
pulled me down to him. 

"Is there something you wanted?" I asked as I traced my finger down his
jawline and across his lips. 

"Uh-huh" 

I leaned closer to give him a kiss when we heard a knock on the door.
Giving a disparaging laugh, I went to answer it. 

"It never fails" I said as Ben continued to play with the babies. 

"Hi Ray, what brings you here?" 

"Oh you know the usual. I thought I'd come by and see how you're doing" he
paused to give me a kiss on the cheek "steal Benny away for a drug
bust...." 

He picked up Jacinda on his way to the couch. "Say hi uncle Ray...hi." He
spoke to her in a baby voice "look at those pretty eyes, do you have your
mommy's eyes? Yes you do.... I think you do..." 

Jacinda's body scrunched up as her face split into a wide grin. Ben and I
exchanged looks. "So Ray, what's this about a drug bust?" 

He cleared his throat "we got a tip something big is going to be going
down. The Lieutenant asked me to bring you in on it." 

I sat down in the chair across from Ray and curled my feet up underneath
me. 

"Do we have enough time to drop Analise and the babies off at your house?"
Ben asked Ray. 

"Why would we have to go over there Ben? I can handle everything by
myself." 

Ben handed Robert to Ray and came over to me, leaning both hands on the
chair trapping me in place. "I know you can 'handle' anything, but I don't
like you being alone at night" he leaned down and nibbled my neck, knowing
that was a weak spot for me. "Please?" 

He was definitely bringing out the heavy artillery if he's willing to do
that in front of Ray. I took a deep breath "I wont be alone, Dief will be
with me." 

"If you're gonna go Benny, we gotta get moving" Ray interrupted. 

I could tell he was torn as I got up to rescue Ray who was being gummed by
Robert. 

"Eewww.... Baby drool. He's already tasting things." Ray said as Ben
handed him a tissue. 

"We'll be fine Ben and besides," I added knowing this would drive the
point home "the lieutenant must really need your help if he sent Ray all
the way over here." 

"You're right, let me get my coat." Ben finally agreed as he went into the
other room. ** 

Lt. Welsh and Stan were looking nervously at their watches. Jack and Tom
were sitting nearby playing blackjack. 

"They should have been here by now." Welsh was saying. "What's taking them
so long?" "Maybe Fraser couldn't make it." Jack offered. 

"Naw, Vecchio would make sure he came. For all we know he could be helping
little old ladies across the street. Don't worry, they'll be here." Stan
added, hoping it was true. 

The doors to the bullpen finally opened and everyone took up their spots.
"Ah, Constable, glad you can make it." Welsh said looking up at the
Mountie. 

"I'm always glad to help out fellow officers, Leftenant." Ben said placing
his stetson on the desk. 

"Yeah, well here's the plan. We got a tip that a major drug deal is going
to be going down at the Icecat over on Diversey." "Isn't that a strip club
sir?" Ray asked. 

"Yeah Vecchio, that's the one. Anyway" Welsh said getting back to business
"the plan is simple. We go in, ask a few questions, make a few arrests, I
don't want this to get ugly there will be a lot of civilians nearby, get
in and get out. Understand?" 

"Yes sir" the group said preparing to leave. 

Welsh glanced at his watch again. "We better get going." 

When they reached the club, there was a line wrapping halfway around the
block. The police officers strode up to the door and flashed their badges,
gaining immediate entrance. The club was dark and smoky with girls dancing
at strategically placed locations around the room. 

Ben noticed quite a few other officers from the 27th and figured this must
be a big bust for so many of them to be involved. He honed his senses,
wanting to be prepared for anything. Welsh sat down at a table in the
front of the club and everyone else followed suit. When the waitress
appeared, she took everyone's orders and scooted off. 

Ben was confused. Ray, Stan, Jack, Tom and the Lt. All seemed to be
watching the women dancing on stage. Shouldn't they be keeping an eye out
for the drug smugglers? 

"Leftenant? If I may say, there doesn't seem to be anything 'going down'
as you would put it. Also, although there are a number of police officers
present, no one seems to be concentrating on the task at hand." 

"Ah, but they are Constable." Welsh answered sipping the beer that was
placed before him by the almost topless waitress. 

"I not quite sure I follow sir." Ben spoke as he thanked the waitress for
his sarsaparilla. Trying not to stare at the large part of her that was
face level with him. 

Ray placed his hand on his friends shoulders "Benny, we decided every
condemned man deserves one last night of freedom." 

"Ray?" Ben was totally confused now and was nervously eying the large
number of women who were congregating near him. 

Stan leaned over "Fraser buddy, welcome to your bachelor party" he then
waved the women over who took turns dancing on Ben's lap. Everyone laughed
as the Mountie turned five different shades of red. No matter where his
eyes went, he couldn't get away from the flesh surrounding him. 

Ray leaned over and gave him a wad of one dollar bills. "Here ya go Benny,
you wouldn't want to disappoint the ladies now would you? They DO work so
hard." 

Ben didn't know what to do. He looked around the table and it became
obvious no one was going to help him out of this. A hip was being swung
extremely close to his face and swallowing hard, he deftly tucked a folded
dollar into the woman's clothing, if that's what you could call what she
was wearing. 

The other officers cheered him on and Ben nervously took a long sip of his
soda. How did he ever manage to end up in this situation? Thinking he
could end his ordeal quickly, he took a deep breath and started to hand
out the money to the ladies. This brought on fits of raging laughter from
those around him and more money was shoved in his direction. Ben also
noticed, the women were starting to wear considerably less and he seemed
to be the one collecting their clothes! 'Oh dear' he thought to himself. 

** 

When Ben returned home I was in the middle of picking up from the
bachelorette party the girls had thrown for me. It was really nice and I
was surprised to see so many people. They had even invited some of my
coworkers from Goddess Creations as well as friends from the station. 

"Hi" I said going over to give him a hug "how was your 'drug bust'?" 

Ben looked down at me and narrowed his eyes "you knew what they were
planning didn't you?" 

I laughed and gave him a kiss "now what gave you that idea?" 

Ben lifted me up and tossed me onto the couch pinning me beneath him.
"What are you doing?" I asked laughing. 

"Teaching you a lesson" he said as he pinned my arms above my head and
proceeded to tickle me. "No! Ben....stop....please..." I was laughing so
hard I could barely get the words out. Ben was now nibbling at my neck as
he tickled and that sent a whole lot of new sensations through me. As he
became more caught up in seducing me, the tickling stopped. Ben released
my hands and slid his down the sides of my body. I could get used to this,
perhaps Ben should go out more often. 

The caressed stopped as quickly as they started and I opened my eyes to
see Ben holding up a male G-string. He was looking down at me, eyebrows
raised. 

I blushed thinking of the Chippendale who was dancing on our coffee table
not more than two hours ago. I guess not all of his clothes made it home. 

"Anything you care to tell me?" Ben asked with an amused tone in his
voice. 

"Well.... You see.... Frannie and Meg they--" I was gratefully saved from
my stammering by a very passionate kiss. When we finally broke apart
breathless, Ben smiled down at me "understood" 

He then scooped me in his arms and carried me into the bedroom. 

 I snuggled deeper into Ben's embrace and felt his hot breath on the back
of my neck as his arm started to roam up and down my body I rolled around
to face him. 

"Just what do you think you're doing?" 

"If you have to ask, I must be doing something wrong." 

"I wouldn't say *that* now." I said adding my own hands to the fray. 

A cry from the other room froze us in place. Both of us listened intently,
willing Robert to go back to sleep. A pause....we smiled and Ben leaned
forward to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around Ben's neck running my hands
through his hair. 

This time a duet of cries started and Ben broke off the kiss resting his
forehead against mine. The cries were soon followed by the whine of a
large wolf. 

Ben looked over at Dief who had stuck his head onto the side of the bed.
"We are getting up, no need to be pushy." 

"You do realize this is all your fault." I said looking up at him. 

Ben climbed out of bed and held his hand out to me. "And how did you come
to that conclusion?" 

"Robert always gets up first. It's your genes." "Ah, I see." Ben replied
as I wrapped my robe around myself. "And your genes had nothing to do with
this?" 

"Of course not." I replied with an innocent look on my face. What I didn't
say though, was at this rate we would never have to worry about me getting
pregnant again. We made our way onto the babies room. 

"Hey there blue eyes, what's all this fussing for?" I asked as I picked up
Robert. "You're just like your daddy, fussing to get what you want." 

Ben gave me a 'that's very funny' look as I sat in the rocking chair.
After I was settled, he handed Jacinda to me. I was getting pretty good at
this. 

After a few minutes, Ben leaned over and gave me a kiss before leaving the
room. I knew he was going to get the diapers ready for their change and he
always brings me a caffeine free Pepsi. Robert had closed his eyes again
drifting in and out of sleep, but J.C. Was staring at me intently like she
always does. I couldn't help but notice how much they seemed to act like
their father. 

*** 

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Ben asked for the fifth time. 

Stan picked up his dress reds and bag. He had been ready to go for the
last half hour. 

"It's tradition Ben" I said taking his arm and leading him to the door
"you can't see the bride before the wedding." 

"What if you need help with the babies?" He glanced back towards the
nursery. 

Frannie handed Ben his hat "that's what I'm here for." 

"See? No problem. Now go, I have a lot of things to do and I can't do them
with you here." 

"Besides" Frannie added "you'll have fun over at Stan's place." 

Ben caressed my face and gave me a soft kiss. "Make sure you---" "lock up,
I know" I said finishing his sentence. 

"Ok, I just woke up from my coma, let's go" Stan said walking into the
hallway. 

"Be careful" Ben added. 

"FRASER!" 

I shut the door behind him and smiled at Frannie. 

"Where is it?" She asked. 

"In the bedroom. I made Ben promise not to peek." We headed in and I
pulled out my gown. "I got it back today" 

"This is so exciting! I can't wait for tomorrow." 

"Meg should be here soon. I figure tomorrow morning we could do our hair
and make up here, and then change over at your place." 

"Ma has been receiving calls all day from people about the wedding. A lot
of people are trying to invite themselves." 

"I hope not" I said taken aback. "I just wanted it to be close friends.
Did you know Buck Frobrisher is flying in?" 

"Yeah, Ray's going to pick him up tomorrow morning." Frannie said as she
held my dress in front of herself and turned back and forth in front of
the mirror. 

"I can't wait to meet him. Ben has talked about him alot." 

We heard one of the babies fussing from the other room and Frannie headed
in while I put my gown away. 

"You know, J.C. Looks just like you." Frannie said handing her to me.
"Robert looks like Fraser with his blue eyes and all, but she has olive
skin like you." "Yeah, she does, doesn't she?" I said looking down at
Jacinda's brown eyes. "You should see the outfits we bought them for
tomorrow. They are so cute!" 

 ** 

Ben looked out the window of the GTO lost in thought. 

"You know" Stan said glancing over at him "it isn't too late to change
your mind." 

"About what?" 

"About tying the knot." 

"I'm not tying any knots. Although I am able to tie over 261 different
types...." 

"Never mind" Stan said and decided to change the topic. "So where are you
two planning on going for a honeymoon?" 

Ben hadn't heard the question. He was looking down the street at a group
of thugs. 

"Stan- look." No sooner had Ben drew his friends attention, did they see
some automatic weapons being drawn. 

"Why me?" Stan asked as he turned on his lights and sped towards the men.
Picking up the radio he yelled into the mike "this is Kowalski, I need
back up at--" 

He was interrupted before he could finish by gun fire hitting the car.
Stan swerved hard to the left to try and dodge some of the bullets before
he turned down the alley the men had ran into. 

"No they didn't just shoot my car Fraser!" another shot shattered the
windshield as Stan screeched the car to a halt and used it as a shield to
return fire. Ben looked around for an opening, anything to get behind the
men. He ran towards a dumpster. 

"Fraser! What are you doing?" Stan yelled as he fumbled with his glasses.
Getting them on he took out one of the men. The others disappeared into a
building. 

Stan rushed up to his friend "are you trying to get yourself killed?" 

"That wasn't my first idea Stan, ready?" Both men rushed to the door of
the warehouse and stood on either side. 

"On three" Stan said breathing deep to ready himself. 

"One" 

"Two" 

"Three" they said together and rushed inside. It was almost pitch black
and both me had to take a minute to adjust their eyes. Ben's keen hearing
picked up movement towards the back of the building. 

"Stan-- this way" 

They eased their way down the corridor trying not to disturb the debris
underfoot. As they neared the end of the hallway, gunfire erupted again
and Ben pulled Stan into a niche as a bullet whizzed past the man's face. 

"Thanks Fraser" Stan reached around the corner and blindly fired towards
the shooter. 

"Damn! I'm out of bullets" he reached for his back up gun. 

It was suddenly quiet in the building. Ben and Stan slowly maneuvered
around the corner. From behind them, there was no mistaking the click from
an assault weapon. They raised their hands above their heads and someone
took the gun from Stan. 

"Move" Ben felt the barrel of a rifle in his back as both men moved down
the hall, looking for an opening. 

"Get in there" 

"If you kill a police officer, they will hunt you to the ends of the
earth" Ben said trying to stall the man and obtain as much information as
possible. He heard a crack and saw Stan drop from the corner of his
vision. Ben spun around to try and subdue the attacker. As he reached for
the weapon, a shot rang out and a searing pain ripped through Ben before
his world went black. 

 ** 

Stan opened his eyes and looked around. His head was throbbing big time.
When he tried to reach a hand up and check for injuries, he found he
couldn't move. Stan rolled onto his side and noticed his feet and hands
were tightly bound. 'This is just great!' He thought to himself. Looking
over at Fraser, he sighed and laid his head back down. His friend was out
of it and tied also. 

Stan tried to sit up but noticed the rope that held his hands hostage was
also connected to the rope on his ankles. The most the frustrated cop
could do was rock back and forth on his stomach. "Fraser... Fraser come on
wake up. We gotta get out of here. Fraser!" 

When Ben started to moan a little Stan mumbled impatiently "about time. I
thought you were gonna sleep all night." 

Ben heard someone calling his name and tried desperately to shake the
fuzzy feeling from his mind. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes
focusing on his friend. He grimaced as a sharp pain shot through him when
he tried to move. It only took a moment for Ben to realize he was tied up.


"Stan?" 

"Yeah I'm here. We gotta get out of this. Do that Mountie thing of yours
and untie us." 

Every move Ben made brought more pain and from the moisture he could feel
on his chest, he knew he was losing blood. How much exactly he didn't
know, but feeling dizzy as he was, shock could be just around the corner. 

Reluctantly he looked over at his friend "I can't." 

"Can't what?" Stan asked a little impatiently. Fraser should have been up
by now and telling some kind of Inuit story all the while freeing both of
them. 

"I can't move." 

"I know you can't move, neither can I. We're tied up! That's why you gotta
do that thing you do and get us out of here.!" The cop wrestled in his
spot accomplishing nothing except to make his bonds tighter. 

Ben struggled to control his breathing. He could tell he was blacking out
again and doing his best to fight it. He fought to get the words out.
"That's ....not why I can't move, Stan...." He paused as the pain became
worse and after a minute continued "I'm shot." 

"Geez Fraser! Why didn't you say something? How bad is it?.... Fraser?"
Stan rolled as much as he could and strained to look at his friend. There
was barely any light in the small room filtering in from a nearby street
light. Ben was unconscious again and a panic welled up inside him. 

"Think Stan, think" he said outloud. "There has gotta be a way out of
this." He knew backup should be on it's way if enough of his message went
through, but he couldn't count on it. Looking over at Fraser, he
remembered the Mountie normally keeps a knife in his boot. Now the only
problem was reaching him. 

 

 *** 

I looked out the window one more time. "Where are they?" I asked as I
nervously smoothed down my gown. "The wedding is supposed to start in a
half hour!" 

"I'm sure they'll be here" Frannie said as she followed my movements back
and forth across the room trying to do last minute tucks with my hair. "
Fraser probably stopped to help a little old lady or some other Mountie
thing." 

"If he did I'll kill him! He should have at least called or something,
worrying me like this..." My voice trailed off as I spotted Ray in the
doorway. "Any word?" I asked. 

"Not yet, but don't worry, Stan will make sure Benny gets here." He said
giving me a slight smile. "Did you call his cell phone?" 

"No answer" 

"Something's not right, I can feel it." I said as Meg walked in. I looked
at her hopefully. 

"I checked at the consulate, they haven't been there." 

We jumped when Ray's cell phone rang. "Benny is that you?" 

Ray breathed a sigh of relief. "Stan, where's Fraser?... What?!.... I'll
be right there." 

Ray looked at all of us after hanging up the phone. "Don't worry, they
just ran into some....uh... Car problems." 

"Why don't I believe you?" I asked crossing my arms in front of me. 

"Gotta go." He said and bolted out the door. 

"Hold up son, where's the fire?" Buck Frobisher asked upon seeing Ray fly
down the stairs. 

"It's Benny- I'll tell you on the way. Come on Dief." 

 * 

Ray found the GTO shot up in the alley and readied his gun as he and Buck,
with Dief, made their way into the building. They slowly inched down the
corridor, checking each room. 

"Looks like the bad guys are long gone." Buck observed. 

"So where the hell is Benny and Stan?" 

Buck held up a hand to silence Ray. "Shh, hear that?" 

There it was again-- a slight tapping. The men followed the sound until
they found a room wedged shut with a steel bar. 

"Hey Benny, you in there?" 

"Ray is that you?" Stan asked. 

"Yeah, hold on, we'll get you out of there." Between Ray and Buck, they
managed to move the bar and open the door. 

"I heard of people getting cold feet but this is ridiculous." Ray said
trying to hide his concern. Ben was sitting on the floor leaning against
the opposite wall. His eyes were closed and he was concentrating hard to
keep the pain in check.When he didn't get up right away, Ray knew that
something was wrong. 

Rushing to the Mountie's side he knelt down "Benny, what happened?" 

Ben was holding his right arm against himself and when he shifted Ray
caught site of the blood. 

"You've been shot!" He gently pulled the material back and Ben winced.
"Why didn't you tell me!?" Ray demanded looking over at Stan who was
holding his head. 

"You didn't give me a chance. I called the station and they are sending
some black and whites along with an ambulance." 

"What happened? Don't leave anything out." 

Stan sighed and let Buck look at his head as he spoke to Ray "We saw some
punks with heavy weapons and chased them into this building. They took us
by surprise and put us in here. Someone hit me in the head and when I woke
up, we were tied up and Fraser had been shot. It took us all this time to
free ourselves and Fraser insisted I call you before calling the
ambulance." 

"It doesn't look like any permanent damage has been done detective, but
you'll have one heck of a headache for a while." Buck said before going
over to examine Ben. 

"Looks like you're still getting into trouble Benton" Buck said as he
examined the wound. The bullet had entered his at his inner shoulder near
his collarbone, but Buck couldn't tell how much blood he had lost. There
didn't appear to be an exit hole. From the younger man's pale complexion,
he knew he had to get to a hospital. 

"Good to see you too sir" Ben managed to force out. As his eyes caught
site of Buck's watch, his pain was momentarily forgotten. "Great Scott!
I'm supposed to be getting married in ten minutes!" He moved to stand up
but both Ray and Buck held him in place. 

"You aren't going anywhere Benny, except to the hospital." Ray's voice was
firm. 

"How's Analise?" Ben asked thinking of what she must be going through
right now. 

"Let's just say the bullet you got there will be less painful after she
gets through with you." "Oh dear" 

As the ambulance crew entered the room, Buck and Ray moved over so they
could help Ben. Stan was also being looked over. 

Ben sat there thinking of a way to make it to the wedding and still
appease Ray. He knew his friend could be very stubborn sometimes, but
there was no way he was going to miss he own wedding. The medical team had
temporarily bandaged his wound and were taking his vitals. Resolved, he
struggled to stand and brushed off the hands of the protesting EMT's. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Stan asked him, waving away the hand
that was prodding at his own injury. 

"Getting married" Ben said as he started out the room. 

"Sir, let us do our job. We need to take you to a hospital." The one EMT
said as he caught Ben when he faltered. 

"You are going to the hospital Fraser, and that's that." Ray said blocking
the door. 

"Ray, I'll go afterwards, right now Analise is waiting for me and I'm not
going to let her down." 

"She'll understand Benton" Buck chimed in. "If she's half the woman
Bob...I mean you said she was." 

"I am going Ray, now you can either help me get there, or I'll walk,
choice is yours." He looked over at Buck as he spoke and then back to Ray.


Ray's mind was racing. What should he do? If he took Benny to the wedding,
his Ma would kill him and probably so would Analise, Frannie and Meg. If
he didn't though, Benny would try and go anyway... Why did things always
fall on him? Sighing deeply he knew he was beat and looked at his friend. 

"All right but you can be the one to explain this to everyone, not me."
Ray said helping him outside. 

When Stan reached the alley, he started pacing back and forth in front of
his car. "My car! Fraser look what they did to my car!" Apparently while
the damage to the car was fairly extreme, the light of day made it look
ten times worse than last night. 

Ben ignored him as he concentrated on keeping his pain in check. He
reached into the back seat of the GTO and grabbed his uniform with his
good arm. Buck took his bag for him. Ray stripped the bloody shirt off of
Ben and helped him climb into the back seat of the riv with Buck who was
helping him change. 

"Your car is fine, we gotta go" Ray said dragging the distraut man behind
him. Stan climbed into the passenger seat with Dief and kept mumbling
about his car. 

" I don't know about this Benny" Ray was looking in the rear view mirror
and saw how much Ben winced every time he went over a bump. Perspiration
broke out on his forehead and more than once Ben had to close his eyes and
rest. 

"Hey, we gotta stop by my place. I need to get my suit." Stan looked over
at Ray as he spoke, trying to keep Dief out of his face. 

"Your suit? Your suit?! I got Fraser bleeding in the back seat trying to
get to a wedding that's supposed to be starting now." He looked into the
rear view mirror at the man in question and spoke louder "instead of going
to the hospital where he belongs, and you're worried about a suit?!" Ray
thought he was going to lose his mind. How did he always manage to get
involved in these things? 

Buck leaned up from the back seat "I believe what the detective is trying
to say is that there's no time to stop and pick it up." 

Ben shut his eyes as Ray ran a red light. If he managed to make it to the
wedding, Analise was going to kill him. 

 

** 

I sat down by the window and leaned my head against the wall. My stomach
was in turmoil and it took all my will power to keep my panic under
control. A soft knock on the door focused my attention back to the
present. 

"Cara, may I come in?" 

I drew in a shaky breath and tried to compose myself as the door opened.
Seeing Ma, I forced a slight smile to my lips so she wouldn't see how
worried I was. 

Ma pulled a chair out from the desk and brought it to the window, sitting
down with me. I continued looking out the window and felt a hand on my
arm. 

"You know, I have spent the past 16 years staring out the windows of this
house. Always wondering if today will be the day I get a call telling me
my Ramundo isn't coming home." 

I stared at the older woman in front of me. She knew exactly what I was
going through and it was a relief to be able to talk to someone about it.
I could never tell Ben how much I worry about him when he's out there, it
wouldn't be fair to him. I knew when I first fell in love with him that he
was a Mountie and if he knew how much I worried, he might give that up. I
would never do that to him. 

"Does it get any easier?" I asked but deep down I already knew the answer.


"No cara, but faith makes it bearable. Don't worry, Ramundo will bring him
home safely." 

I leaned over to give her a hug. "Thank you" 

We pulled back and she squeezed my hands "you are such a beautiful bride."
She beamed. 

"All I need now is the groom" I replied trying to lighten the mood. 

I heard tires screech in the driveway and looked out the window again. Ray
and Stan got out of the car and I held my breath. Finally there was Ben! I
felt lightheaded with the rush of relief. Ben looked slightly haggard and
I noticed Stan was still wearing the same clothes he had on last night.
Something did happen! 

"Come away from the window. You don't want Benton to see you before it's
time." 

 ** 

Ben climbed out of the riv and leaned his back against it for support. The
pain was almost unbearable. 

"You don't look so good son" Bob Fraser appeared beside him with a worried
look on his face. 

"Not now Dad." All he had to do was take deep breaths and control the
pain. He thought to himself. 

"Stan, you take Benny around back. I got something I need to do." 

"I'll help" Buck said and nodded in Bob's direction acknowledging the
apparition. 

Ben did his best to make it on his own while both men hovered on either
side of him. Once they were out of site Ray took out his cell phone and
dialed a number. How did he ever get talked into this? 

"Yeah this is Vecchio...." 

Ben slowly made his way to the back yard and took his place by Father
Behen. Looking around, he saw Maria sitting with Tony, their children and
the twins. Ma Vecchio was beside them giving him an ear to ear grin. He
smiled back and looking around at their close friends, his eyes settled on
a few vacant chairs in the front. He wanted to sit down for just a minute
and rest, but Ben knew if he did that suspicions would be aroused. He
nodded at the smiling faces in greeting and tried not to think of his
wound. He could feel some seepage coming through the bandages. Buck stayed
by his side while Stan headed into the house. 

Ray jogged up taking his place beside Ben and noted his labored breathing.
Glancing around, no one else seemed to notice the distress his friend was
in. Ben's face was schooled and he was doing a pretty good job of hiding
his pain. 

"How you doing Benny?" Ray whispered to him so no one would over hear. 

"I'll make it." Came the concentrated reply. 

Both men turned their attention towards the patio doors when the music
started. Meg was the first through the door with Lieutenant Welsh and
everyone watched as they walked down the isle. As she neared Ben and Ray,
her look turned to one of concern. She could tell something wasn't right
between them. Meg didn't have time to think about it as she was led to her
spot. Frannie and Stan started down next and both looked like they were
slightly embarrassed. Ben knew it had something to do with the man's
attire. 

Feeling momentarily dizzy, Ben faltered and Ray grabbed his arm to steady
him. 

"Fraser, are you ill?" Meg asked. She could see the perspiration on his
face and his eyes seemed slightly glazed. 

Ben took in a shaky breath as he steadied himself. "Yes sir...I mean no
sir..." He gave up "I'll be fine." 

The music changed and Ben's attention was drawn once again to the house.
When Analise stepped through the door, Ben's breath caught in his throat.
She was beautiful! He couldn't believe that he was lucky enough to be
marrying her. Everything he ever wanted was about to happen. No longer
would he be alone. No longer would his nights be filled with longing. Yes,
he and Analise had been together for a while, but this makes it.... He
sighed, not quite knowing the word he was looking for. She was beautiful,
and she was about to be his. He glanced quickly down at their children. He
was indeed a lucky man. Ben knew there was nothing more in this life he
would ever want. He was...complete. 

 * 

As I made my way down the isle my heart was beating wildly. I know it's
silly, after all these were our close friends. I just couldn't help myself
though. All eyes were focused on me and just when I thought I couldn't
stand it a minute longer, my eyes shifted to Ben and a feeling of calm
settled in me. 

He was staring at me with a wistful expression and I smiled. How did I
ever become so lucky? As I neared, I noticed his eyes were a bit cloudy
and when he offered his arm to me, I could feel a tremor moving through
him. His face was slightly strained and I became worried. 

"Ben?" 

He gave me a smile and squeezed my arm. 

"Are you alright?" I asked. Something was...off. Way off. 

He spoke softly "I'm fine, just thinking of how lucky I am." 

Father Behen coughed and although I knew he was holding something back, I
turned my attention to the matter at hand. 

Bob Fraser appeared and sat down beside Buck Frobisher. 

"I was wondering where you disappeared to." Buck said giving him a
sideways glance. 

"I wouldn't miss this for anything." Bob's eyes took on a far away
expression "I wish Caroline could see him now." 

"It reminds me of another wedding" Buck said thinking back to when Ben's
parents were bonded. 

Bob smiled at his old partner and nodded towards Analise "She reminds me a
lot of Caroline." 

He paused a moment and added "Do you think he'll make it through the
entire ceremony?" 

Buck studied the younger Mounties features. He was sweating and pale. The
pain had to be pretty intense. Ben was now repeating after the Father,
holding Analise's hands. He shrugged "so far he's holding his own. I'd
give him a 50/50 chance." 

 

I nervously repeated the words dutifully to Ben. My hands shook as I
looked into his eyes. I could see the love there, but something else
caught my attention. I lost track of everything going on around me as I
stared at Ben. He was sending me a silent message but I couldn't tell what
it was. I felt tense, as if something was about to happen. What was he
trying to tell me? 

He broke eye contact with me as he turned and reached for the ring Ray
handed him. I looked down as he slipped it on my finger and clearly said
to me "with this ring, I thee wed.". His voice was deep and sent a shiver
to the very depths of my soul. 

I took his ring and repeating the words, placed it on Ben's finger. I
smiled when I thought back to our conversation. He didn't want to wear a
ring and I told him that if I wore one, so would he. We had a long
discussion about it, but in the end, I told him it would act as a signal
to keep other women away. He readily agreed then. 

Ben caressed my face with his hand and leaned down to give me a kiss.
Gentle at first, then he deepened it. He was breathing heavily and I could
feel the tremor getting worse. As I reached my arms up to wrap around him,
a gasp of pain escaped his lips breaking the kiss and he rested his
forehead on mine. My hand met with something wet and looking at it, I
could tell it was blood. 

"Ben!" I cried looking at my hand. Ray had picked that moment to step
forward and led Ben to a chair. "What happened?" I demanded to know.
Activity broke out all around us and Ben sought out my eyes. 

"It's nothing Analise, just a little...." He couldn't finish as a pain
ripped through him. His look was one of sheer concentration. 

"Stan, go out front and wait for the ambulance." Ray said as Stan jogged
around to the front. 

"Ben, what happened I said as I unbuttoned his tunic" he was in no
condition to answer me and I looked at Ray. I was going to get my answers.


Ray swallowed hard and glanced nervously at me, then Meg, his Ma, and
everyone else standing around. "He was shot." "Shot! Ben why didn't you
tell me?" I asked as I gently removed the material from his wound. I could
tell he had received 'some' medical attention, but why wasn't he at the
hospital? 

Examining the wound, I looked back at Ben's face, his eyes were closed and
he was clammy. His face had an unnatural pale color to it. "When did this
happen?" I asked looking at Ray. 

He shrugged his shoulders. "Sometime last night." Seeing my expression he
added "it's a long story, right now we gotta get him to the hospital." 

"Get me some cold water and a cloth" I ordered to no one imparticular.
Ray, get his boots off, I looked around at all the people crowding close.
"Clear this area, we need to lie him down" 

I cupped Ben's face in my hands. "Ben,....Ben! Come on, stay with me." I
said as I gently slapped him on the cheek. "Stay awake." His eyes opened
slightly and he tried to smile at me. A spot was cleared and Ray, Buck and
a few other guys maneuvered Ben to the ground. The water came and I dunked
the cloth into it, then pressed it onto his forehead. He was hot. Probably
an infection was setting in. "Get something to prop his feet up with" I
said as I undid the belt and zipper to his jodhpurs. 

Meg was at my side now and together we were doing our best to keep him
stable and out of shock. Stan ran up with two men and a gurney. In no
time, they had him ready to transport to the hospital and I rode along in
the ambulance. From the rear window, I could see quite a few cars
following behind. 

 ** 

I paced back and forth in the waiting room, nervously turning the new ring
on my finger. He should have told me! We had been waiting for about three
hours now hoping the doctors would come out and tell us something.
Although I had listened to everything Stan and Ray told us, I still didn't
understand why they didn't make him go to the hospital. 

I sat down on a nearby chair and rocked slightly back and forth. The last
few hours replayed in my mind. As soon as we had arrived, Ben was taken
into surgery to have the bullet removed. I knew the point of entry wasn't
near any major organs, but he had lost a lot of blood, an infection could
set in. That's not including how much damage may have been caused if it
shifted! Sometimes I wish I had never been an EMT. The two years I did
were difficult, as I paid my way through school, but knowing everything
that could happen to him.... A sob caught in my throat and I had to close
my eyes and try to calm myself. I should have known what was wrong. 

I heard Jacinda fuss and Maria brought her over to me. "It's all right" I
hummed to her as I rocked back and forth. I didn't know how much comfort I
would be to her. When she finally settled into sleep, I placed her in her
carrier and walked over to the window. Everyone had tried to make me feel
better but all I wanted was to see Ben. 

All eyes turned when a doctor walked into the room. "Benton Fraser's
family?" He asked and I hurried towards him as others gathered around. He
looked at my wedding dress tinged with blood smears. 

"Are you Mrs. Fraser?" My heart stopped. 'Mrs. Fraser' that was the first
time I heard someone call me that. I nodded my head, not trusting myself
to speak. 

"Your husband is out of surgery and doing well. We were able to remove the
bullet and started him on a round of antibiotics to stave off any
infection." 

"What damage was done?" I asked. I wanted to know everything. 

"It's too soon to tell. The bullet did shift some and he has some muscle
and nerve damage. How much is uncertain at this point. We'll know more
when he wakes up." "Can I see him?" That was a moot question I knew. Let
them try and keep me from him. 

The doctor gave me a sympathetic look. "Sure, he's being moved to his room
now, I'll have a nurse come and get you when he's settled." 

"Thank you" I said in barely a whisper. 

Lt. Welsh spoke up "I'm going to need that bullet for evidence" he said to
the doctor. 

"Certainly, I'll take care of it." The doctor replied. 

After the doctor left, Stan let out a loud sigh. He came up to me for the
first time since we'd been waiting. 

"Analise, I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry." 

"For what?" I asked. "You didn't shoot Ben." 

"He was with me, my responsibility. I should have waited for backup before
going in." Stan had shoved his hands in his front pockets and was looking
down instead of at me. 

I leaned over and gave him a hug. "This isn't your fault. You know Ben
would have gone into that building with or without you. If you hadn't been
there, he'd probably be dead by now." 

He nodded but still didn't make eye contact with me. 

*** 

Ben groggily opened his eyes. The pain wasn't as bad as it had been and
looking around, he knew he was in a hospital. He sighed wondering if they
gave frequent patient points for all the times he's been in here. A face
came into view followed quickly by two others. Ben smiled up at Analise,
Ray and Stan. 

 

I looked down at Ben and breathed a sigh of relief when he smiled. He
would be OK. Taking his hand, I pressed it against my cheek and then bent
down to give him a kiss. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, you
hear?" 

His voice was hoarse "yes ma'am". 

Ray took a cup of water from the table and held the straw up to Ben's
lips. After a few sips, his voice was stronger. Ben looked up at me with
solemn eyes "I'm sorry." 

"What are you apologizing for this time?" I asked knowing full well the
answer. Before he wasted his strength on replying, I placed my fingers on
his lips silencing him. "You need your rest." Smiling I added "I can
always punish you later." 

He gave me a slight smile "Did I tell you how much I love you today?" 

"No, not yet." "I love you." 

"I know" I whispered back. 

Ray cleared his throat "listen, we're gonna go back to the station and see
what we can put together on the guy that shot you Benny. If you need
anything just call." 

"Thanks Ray." 

Buck knocked on the door " May I come in?" 

Stan waved him in and then the two men headed out. "Get some rest Fraser"
Stan said and looked at me one more time. I smiled at him to let him know
I didn't blame him for anything. 

"How are you feeling Benton?" Buck asked 

Ben smiled "I have been better. Have you met Analise yet?" 

"Not officially" I said and held out my hand to the older man. "I'm glad
to finally meet you Sergeant, Ben speaks highly of you." 

"It's Buck, and I've also heard a lot about you, Bob didn't tell me you
were this pretty though." He said taking my hand and kissing it. 

I blushed slightly "flattery will get you everywhere" I said with a laugh.


Bob picked that moment to show up. "Hello son." He said and then nodded
over to Buck and me. "Are you still lying about? You have a man to catch."


Before Ben could reply I jumped into the conversation. "The only thing Ben
is going to catch is some sleep 'Dad'. Ray and Stan will bring the piece
of scum in." I was surprised at the anger in my voice. The last thing Ben
needed though, was to go traipsing about when he should be resting. 

Bob smiled at me and nodded his eyes misty. "You're in good hands son, I
just wanted to make sure before I left." 

Ben looked up at his father. "You're leaving?" 

"You don't need me any more son. You have your own family now and it's
time I joined your mother. My work here is done." 

I could tell Ben was fighting with his emotions "You've said that before."


"I had to make sure you would be taken care of son. Always remember that
from this moment on, you never have to worry about being alone. You have a
family son." He paused before continuing, emotions playing across his
face. " I know I wasn't always there for you when I was alive, but I hope
I made up for that in some small way since I've been dead. Don't worry,
one day we'll be together again. All of us." 

"I'm going to miss you Dad." Ben said, his voice full of the emotion he
was trying to hold back. 

Bob smiled down at his son. "I'm proud of you son. You've done well with
your life. Take care of my grandchildren." 

"We will" 

Bob turned to me next. "You take good care of him. When he helps other
people, he forgets to take care of himself." 

"Don't worry I will." I said as a tear escaped and fell down my cheek. I
felt like I was losing my parents all over again. I knew what Ben was
feeling. 

"You remind me so much of my Caroline. I hope the both of you always have
as much happiness as we did. Cherish the time you have, make each moment
count." 

As he looked over at Buck, I could see him start to fade, and squeezed
Ben's hand. "Buck" 

"Bob." 

They didn't have to say anything else. After all the years of being
partners, they knew each others thoughts. As Bob Fraser walked towards the
door to the room, he disappeared from our view. 

I looked down at Ben who was silently crying and leaned over to hug him as
best I could without causing him pain. His father was gone. 

"Well," Buck said "I'm going to let you get some rest. I'll be back to
check on you tomorrow." 

Ben only nodded and I thanked the man before he left. 

I held Ben then to comfort him as much as myself. Something was different
though, we knew we would no longer face anything alone. We were a family. 

THE END 

OK, I hope everyone liked this story... (I did). Twin survey results are
at the bottom of the page. Anyway, it was a lot of fun to write and the
comments I've received have been wonderful! I can't believe I've tormented
you great people all this time! I suppose if anyone wants me to continue
this story line, I will. Just let me know :) Either way, I hope to hear
from all of you soon (one way or the other). 

If you want me to continue, it will be called... CALL OF THE RAVEN 

OTHER STORIES IN THE SERIES: 

1. Our Mountain 

2. Endless is the Night 

3. From this Moment on 

 zzzaney@att.net 

TWIN SURVEY RESULTS boy/boy 1 girl/girl 3 boy/girl 8 one baby 1 triplets 4